The Big Picture - Wide Format Printing

(December 2005) posted on Wed Dec 21, 2005

A summary of the 2005 Canon Expo tour.

By Gregory Sharpless

Held every 5 years, the Canon Expo tour
allows the company to show off its complete
range of products. The 2005 Expo
was no different, and included a stop at
New York City's Javits Convention Center
in September, as well as Paris and Tokyo.

In the Big Apple, Canon showcased
its graphic-arts products and its consumer
goods, and also launched a new
digital color-printing brand, Canon image-
PRESS. Aimed at the commercial print and
graphic-arts markets, the imagePress
brand was developed to expand the company's
presence in the production color
market"?creative-services companies,
ad agencies, design firms, and marketing
divisions. The new brand joins Canon's
portfolio of imageRUNNER, imagePROGRAF,
and imageCLASS products.

The company previewed the first color
press technologies under the imagePress
brand: "imagePress X" for commercial production
environments, and "imagePress
Y" for graphic arts and proofing. Both units
are expected to be available for customer
delivery in the second half of 2006.

"As the market shifts dramatically
toward the adoption of digital color, the
introduction of the imagePress brand
clearly announces our intention to expand
our superior value proposition to commercial
print and graphic-arts customers"?
and further our influence within the digital
color space," says Tod Pike, senior vice
president of Canon USA's Imaging Systems
Group. "We expect imagePress will
transform the production marketplace,
allowing commercial and quick printers,
as well as in-plant and central reprographic
department customers to grow
their client base, volume, and profits."

Canon also introduced a new corporate
slogan for the Americas, "Canon image-
ANYWHERE." The slogan "underscores
[our] commitment to being the leader in
total networked, digital imaging solutions
for business and consumers."

Importantly, the company used this
exposition to not only display its current
products, but also to introduce new products
and even offer previews of some
products and technologies that are still
on the drawing board. Of particular note
on the Expo show floor:

• Dye-based imagePROGRAF W8400D:
  Based on the pigment-based W8400
  released earlier this year (see our September
  review, p. 25), this 44-in. printer
  utilizes dye inks. Other features remain
  the same from the W8400: it's a 6-color
  printer (CMYKcm); offers print speeds up
  to 307 sq ft/hr at 1200 dpi; has a maximum
  resolution of 2400 x 1200 dpi; and
  features PosterArtist, Digital PhotoPrint
  Pro, and PhotoPrint Select software.
  Note: Canon is now referring to the pigment-
  based W8400 as the W8400Pg.
  The W8400D will be available in Q4 2005;
  estimated MSRP is $5995.

• ImageProGraf 60: This was a prototype
  machine, referred to by Canon as a
  "product preview." A 60-in. rollfed printer,
  it utilized pigment-based inks and had
  a larger color gamut than the W8400,
  although the exact number of colors
  were not specified. Nor were speed and
  resolution specified, although a Canon
  representative reported that both of
  these would be equal to or greater than
  the W8400. It likely will make its debut in
  the first half of 2006.

• 10-Color Desktop Printer: Geared
  toward the fine-art, photography, and
  proofing markets, this pigment-based
  printer had yet to be provided with a monicker.
  It could handle a variety of media
  sizes, including 14 x 17 and 13 x 19 in.
  Likely to have a price tag in the $900
  range, a Canon representative said, this
  printer should be introduced in the first
  half of 2006. Its 10-color inkset could
  migrate to the ImageProGraf 60, above.

• Kyuanos color-management software:
  Allows for better color matching
  across all applications, from clothing and
  textiles to screen/display and printed
  output. The software also compensates
  for the on-site lightings. Canon
  announced that Kyuanos will be incorporated
  into Windows' upcoming Vista
  (formerly "Longhorn") operating system
  as its color-management system.

• ImageRUNNER 2016/2020 Series:
  Multifunction devices with operating
  speeds up to 20 pages/min, these
  units allow copying, network printing,
  and faxing. Also available as 2016i and
  2020i models, which add network capabilities
  "?color scanning, scan-to-email,
  scan-to-file, and scan-to-fax. Both models
  support Canon's PDF High-Compression
  mode. The base models are available
  now; the "i" models will be made
  available in early 2006. MSRP: $2500
  (2016) and $3000 (2020).

• SED display technology: A joint venture
  between Canon and Toshiba, SED
  (surface-conduction electron emitter display)
  panels for video and digital images
  are based on flat-panel display technologies.
  SED displays merge Canon's
  electron-emission and micro-fabrication
  technologies with Toshiba's CRT technology
  and mass-production capabilities.

CANON USA

www.usa.canon.com