CANON WIDE-FORMAT WINS 7 PINNACLE AWARDS

Canon’s wide-format production printing technological prowess has been recognised in the annual US Printing United Alliance Pinnacle Awards, winning six Pinnacle Product Awards and one Pinnacle Technology Award.

The Colorado M-series was the winner in the Roll-to-Roll/Hybrid/Flatbed new technology category, while the Arizona 135 GT, 1380 GTF, 1380 XTF, 2380 GTF and 2380 XTF made a clean sweep by winning each of their five respective UV/Latex Flatbed categories.

Additionally, Canon also won the Pinnacle Technology Award for the recently launched Canon UVgel White Ink.

Open to all Printing United Alliance supplier members, the Pinnacle Product Award competition evaluates products that are commercially available in 2023. This year, 160 entries across 58 categories, covering analogue, digital, output and non-output technologies, were judged by a panel of experts from the printing industry.

In the product categories, the Colorado M-series was selected for the Roll-to-Roll/Hybrid/Flatbed New Technology Award and the Canon UVgel White Ink won the Pinnacle Technology Award.

Canon launched the Colorado M-series, a modular roll-to-roll printer with two-speed configurations and UVgel white ink option, in March. Based on a single platform that can be configured to customers’ needs, the printer offers in-field upgrades, giving users the option to enhance their printer in line with their changing requirements.

Canon says customers can also benefit from the performance advantages of UVgel, and print a wider spectrum of applications with the introduction of white UVgel ink. The UVgel formulation produces what Canon says is dense, opaque white images in fewer printing passes, with fewer production issues and nozzle-cleaning and maintenance requirements often associated with white ink. This results in smooth, error-free prints with minimal waste and optimal productivity. 

This year, the Arizona family won all five of the UV/Latex Flatbed categories entered. In the past three years, Canon has announced multiple developments across the Arizona portfolio, including innovations in the Arizona 2300 series in 2020, the launch of the Arizona 135 in 2021 and, this year, the introduction of Flow technology to the Arizona 1300 series.

According to Canon, the printers are designed for low maintenance, and the Arizona family has automation enhancements that provide users with the capability to support industrial productivity standards and improve uptime.

The latest Arizona models feature award-winning, third-generation VariaDot printing technology, delivering what Canon says is high quality, greyscale image reproduction. And with Flow technology, a Canon innovation that combines a zoneless, multi-origin flatbed with mirrored, pneumatic registration pins, it is quicker and easier to change between boards of any size or shape.

Dirk Brouns, vice president Large Format Graphics at Canon Production Printing, said, “We’re thrilled to have once again been honoured with multiple Pinnacle Product Awards by the Printing United Alliance, and it’s ewarding to be acknowledged across a diverse range of output technology categories. The wide format graphics market is driven by innovation, and Canon’s consistently high ranking in the objective quality criteria for these awards is a testament to our commitment to research and development. We’re confident that our Colorado and Arizona product lines will continue to enable users to boost profits, expand their application possibilities and open up new market opportunities.”

Dawn Nye, programme manager for Pinnacle Awards, Printing United Alliance, commented, “The Pinnacle Technology Award competition winner represents the entry that is innovative and most likely to have a significant impact among commercial hardware, software, consumables, and industrial and screen equipment. One of the things I like best about our competition is that it is juried, and judges base their decisions on objective criteria. This year, the competition was fierce and, with outstanding entries like the Colorado and Arizona, the judges had their work cut out for them.”