Canon says it will fully expand the lineup of its new brand of office multifunction printers, imageFORCE (shown above), from September to November. The OEM had announced the imageFORCE brand in October 2024, and as the first model released the A3 color MFP imageFORCE C7165F in November 2024.
The newly announced products are:
- Four models of A3 color MFPs imageFORCE C5100 Series (40–70 ppm), positioned as the main models for office
- A3 color MFP imageFORCE C3150F (50 ppm), equipped with an ADF compatible with business cards and various small-sized forms, in a compact body
- Two models of A4 color MFPs imageFORCE C431F Series (33 ppm, 43 ppm), which not only have an ADF compatible with business cards and small-sized forms but can also output small-sized paper without reducing speed
- Six models of A3 high-speed monochrome MFPs/printers imageFORCE 8100 Series (86–105 ppm)
- Two models of A3 monochrome MFPs imageFORCE 6100 Series (60 ppm, 70 ppm). Altogether, five series and fifteen models
Accordingly, in the conventional imageRUNNER brand, among A3 color MFPs, only the three models of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX C3900 Series (26–35 ppm) and the imageRUNNER C3322F (22 ppm) will remain in the office MFP lineup, while among A3 monochrome MFPs, only the three models of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX 4900 Series (25–45 ppm) will remain to continue responding to existing customer needs.
The office MFPs of the new brand imageFORCE not only improve the basic functions of MFPs but also strengthen security, environmental compatibility, and solution linkage functions. However, the most distinctive point is that in the basic functions the exposure method has been changed from the conventional laser scanner method to the high-resolution LED method (D² Exposure).
LED Chip Exposure from Canon
Canon adopted this next-generation exposure device D² Exposure in the first model of the imageFORCE brand, the A3 color MFP imageFORCE C7165F released in November 2024, giving the imageFORCE brand office MFPs a premium image. However, by adopting it this time in the imageFORCE C5100 / 6100 Series (40–70 ppm) and the imageFORCE C3150F (50 ppm), which are positioned as core machines for office use, Canon gave the impression that the high functions of D² Exposure will henceforth be positioned as general functions of office MFPs.
Canon’s new (LED) imageFORCE exposure unit (below) is shown with the conventional laser unit (above).
D² Exposure is a next-generation exposure device that uses LED multichips produced by depositing an OLED layer on a silicon wafer with high-density circuits. By precisely arranging the light-emitting parts within the chip and exposing in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum, it achieves high resolution of 4,800 dpi × 2,400 dpi. This improves image smoothness, fine-line reproducibility, and sharpness of reversed-out and small-size characters, making it possible to create high-quality output such as sales proposals and design drawings.
As an exposure device, the LED head has a simple structure and can be installed more compactly than the laser beam method. In office MFPs, the laser method had been mainstream but as the technology of LED heads, such as writing resolution, has improved, their adoption has expanded. Fuji Xerox (currently Fujifilm Business Innovation) already adopted LED heads starting with the DocuCentre-III C2200 Series and ApeosPort-III C2200 Series released in 2007, converted the engines of A3 office MFPs to LED, and currently uses LED heads with output resolution of 1200 dpi × 2400 dpi or 2400 dpi × 2400 dpi in all models of A3 office MFPs. In addition, OKI, which is an independent LED head manufacturer, also began with the release in 2008 of the A3 office MFP COREFIDO MC860dn, and has since mounted LED heads with output resolution of 600 dpi × 1200 dpi in subsequent A3 office MFP models. In addition, as spot products equipped with LED heads, Ricoh released the imagio MP C4510e1 in 2006, Murata Machinery released the MFX-C3400 in 2009, and Toshiba Tec released the e-STUDIO 2050C in 2012 and series models in 2013.
Thus, equipping A3 office color MFPs with LED heads is not unusual. However, in addition to Fujifilm Business Innovation already adopting LED heads in all models, with Canon now adopting the next-generation exposure device D² Exposure with high resolution and high speed in its main models of the new brand, and with OKI having joined ETRIA, the joint venture company of Ricoh and Toshiba Tec, it is expected that LED will also be adopted in the common engine of A3 office MFPs of the three companies belonging to ETRIA, so the shift from laser engines to LED is attracting attention.
With the adoption of the D² Exposure engine, Canon reduced the volume ratio by 95% compared to conventional laser units. However, since the D² Exposure engine requires a cooling system to cool the denser LED head, it does not mean that space becomes entirely empty, but it achieves higher-definition output than the conventional laser method.
Meanwhile, for the engines of the six models of A3 monochrome MFPs/printers imageFORCE 8100 Series of the imageFORCE brand, Canon adopted the high-definition exposure technology R-VCSEL (Resonant Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) mounted in the commercial printing machine imagePRESS Series. The imageFORCE 8100 Series achieves a resolution of 2400 dpi × 2400 dpi.
Another mechanism newly adopted by Canon from this new product is the Speed License. Conventionally, even within the same series, the hardware itself differed depending on the output speed range, but within each series of the imageFORCE brand, the main hardware is manufactured unified. Customers purchase the hardware body in a state where the speed range of use is not yet determined, along with the speed license. When the main body is installed, the multifunction printer/printer’s output speed is determined and the product is completed by applying the license of the speed purchased by the customer. Changes afterwards are not possible. In this way, whereas conventionally separate chassis had to be produced and stocked for each speed, now multiple speed ranges can be handled in a unified way, enabling more efficient production and inventory management.
How much these new challenges by Canon will influence the revitalization of the office MFP market is attracting attention.
