Oc has bought the Professional Imaging division of struggling Swiss photofinishing and digital printer maker Gretag Imaging.

The move adds high-volume and extra-wide format printers and consumables to Ocs large-format monochrome and Encad-based low-volume colour ink-jet printers.

"I think it will be good for our customers and the group," said Gretag Professional Imaging vice president Europe Clint Green. "For digital print Oc is a better fit."

Oc paid an undisclosed sum to Gretag for the division, which had revenues of 72m ($105m) last year.

"Our wide-format printing systems business unit is dedicated to display graphics," said Oc vice president of international corporate affairs, Paul Hollar. "When we started the business, part of our strategic plan was to be one of the top three players in this market."

It sees its rivals in the volume wide-format market, which it claims is growing by 15% year-on-year, as Vutek, NUR and Scitex Vision, and Avery Dennison, Rexam, 3M and Sihl for consumables.

Gretag Imaging ran into problems in its core consumer photofinishing business when sales of minilab equipment in the US collapsed. In the first half of this year it saw sales slip 47% to 111m (SFr265m). Sales in the Consumer business fell 70% to 72m, resulting in a loss in that division of 53m.

Sales in Professional Imaging were up 13% to 38m, although it made a loss of 2m.

"Gretag Imaging needed to concentrate on the core market and get some cash in," said Green.

The acquisition may also see renewed efforts to sell the firms Cymbolic Sciences platesetters, according to Oc. Gretag Imaging pulled out of direct sales of the Cymbolic Sciences PlateJet range, and its space at Ipex, earlier this year and only has an OEM agreement in the US with Fuji (PrintWeek, 21 October).

Story by Barney Cox