Keypoint Intelligence has recognized the advances that Canon U.S.A. Inc. has made in production print and wide format/display graphics with the announcement of BLI Outstanding Innovation Awards in Production Print for three Canon products: the varioPRINT iX-series sheetfed inkjet press, the ProStream 1800 continuous feed inkjet press, and the Arizona 2300 flatbed printer series.
Selected by a panel of expert analysts with years of combined experience in commercial print products and analyzing market trends, the products were judged against three key metrics: how ground-breaking or unique the product innovation was, its likely impact on the market segment it addresses, and the expected timeline for availability to the market.
“In the face of a challenging year for our industry, developers and engineers continued to deliver innovative products—and with in-person tradeshows having been cancelled or put on hold, we felt it was even more imperative to showcase these accomplishments,” said Aaron Hale, group director & chief analyst, Keypoint Intelligence. “The winners of our Outstanding Innovation Awards feature technologies that improve output quality, enhance productivity, deliver workflow efficiencies, impact sustainability, and advance their product segments in meaningful ways.”
Keypoint Intelligence highlighted that the varioPRINT iX-series is “the first true sheetfed inkjet press capable of handling different formats and weights of coated and uncoated media. The press’ maximum speed of 320 A4 images per minute and monthly volumes of up to 10 million images per month were also recognized as being impressive for its class”.
Since its launch in April 2020, the varioPRINT iX-series has seen more than 40 orders globally. IMS, Inc., an integrated service provider for Conversational AI and Omnichannel Communications, was one of the first customers worldwide to install a varioPRINT iX-series. “We chose to invest in the Canon varioPRINT iX-series this year because it gives us the ability to run high-quality jobs – comparable to offset on an inkjet press – expanding our ability to support our customers,” said Josh Mashia, president and chief operating officer, IMS Direct. “We’ve been able to displace multiple toner boxes and drive our overall costs down while increasing our efficiency.”
The ProStream 1800 was noted as “an impressive evolution for its class,” with its ability to achieve offset print quality on standard coated stock with increased speeds of up to 133 meters per minute. Its air flotation drying system and Canon’s Inline Quality Control high-performance camera system were also referenced as “other innovations” contributing to the ProStream’s superior print quality.
DS Graphics/Universal Wilde, a full-service printer and production facility in the Greater Boston area, became one of the first beta customers to run a trial of the ProStream 1800 ahead of its launch in August 2020.
“The Canon ProStream 1800 press quickly found a home in our state-of-the-art facility and has been the perfect addition to our current fleet of continuous feed inkjet,” said Chris Wells, executive vice president, DS Graphics/Universal Wilde. “Its high-speed, high-quality, variable digital print options allow our clients to connect in a consistent, targeted manner regardless of the size of their audience. We’re confident that our fleet of cut sheet and roll fed digital equipment is now unmatched in the industry.”
Launched in September 2020, the Arizona 2300 was quickly recognized for its ground-breaking Arizona FLOW technology. Using an airflow suction technique, it combines a zone-less, multi-origin table layout with easy-to-use registration pins to better secure a substrate in place on the table. With this technology, the Arizona 2300 no longer requires operator time for masking the table or taping down the media, reducing changeover time between jobs and shorter set-up times.
“We are humbled to have had these three printers recognized in the inaugural Keypoint Intelligence BLI Awards. We are as successful as the success of our customers and we are very proud of the feedback we have received thus far on our production print product portfolio,” said Shinichi Yoshida, executive vice president and general manager, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “At Canon, it is our top priority to deliver continuous innovation, quality, versatility and productivity to our customers, and we pride ourselves on providing high-quality, operationally-efficient solutions built to help improve production efficiencies, expand their application possibilities and, in turn, achieve business growth.”
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