CPP LAUNCHING COLORADO M-SERIES

Canon Production Print Australia is launching the Colorado M-Series UVgel print system, with the new modular system, and with white ink for the first time, able to handle a wider range of media, thanks to its new sensory technology.

 

The ability to print on an extensive media range is one of the key attributes of the new M-Series, including the likes of window graphics, labels and wallpapers, as well as printing on heavy structured, transparent, coloured, reflective and magnetic materials.

Available in four versions – the M3, M3W, M5 and M5W – the new printers are modular systems that can be upgraded in the field, and for the first time, have a white option - that’s the W in the names. They are 1.6m roll-to-roll printers, with two speed configurations.

The new printer will be on show at Visual Impact, which runs in Sydney in just five weeks’ time, on the stand of Canon Production Print partner Starleaton. Today is the global launch, with CPP’s Melbourne customers getting a sneak peek at a customer event yesterday.

The M3 printers offer a choice of output speeds, from a cruising speed of 29sqm an hour to a maximum print speed of 111sqm an hour, while the M5 ranges from 40sqm an hour to 159sqm an hour. Both printers can be "easily" upgraded to W versions for white ink (M3W and M5W). The new sensory technology has sensors both underneath and over the media path, and will enable production of difficult media, such as wallpapers, textured stock, coloured papers and the like.

The M Series supercedes the Colorado 1630 and 1650 printers; the Colorado was initially launched six years ago, the 1650 two years later, and the budget version 1630 a year ago, all with Canon’s proprietary UVgel ink technology, which stays with the new M Series.

UVgel has proved a hit for Canon Production Print, with its ability to print both matte and gloss, and to stretch as applications require. The company says UVgel technology combines the colour gamut and light fastness of an eco-solvent printer, the fast drying time and odorless prints of a latex printer, and the productivity and low temperature print process of traditional UV technology. UVgel also uses 40 per cent less power and 40 per cent less ink than conventional ink, according to the company.

According to CPP, UVgel’s particular properties also eliminate many of the production, nozzle cleaning and maintenance issues commonly associated with white ink, offering it says, smooth, error-free printing, minimising ink usage and waste, and maximising productivity.

Customers can also choose the popular FLX finish+ option with their Colorado M-series printer, allowing them to add matte, gloss or mixed matte and gloss on the same print, without additional varnish.

High volume customers can automate the print-to-finish process with a UVgel Print Factory or UVgel Wallpaper Factory configuration, which "seamlessly integrates" the Colorado M-series printer with cutting, rewinding, taping or sheet stacking to manage volumes of at least 50,000sqm per year, with what CPP says is minimal operator time.

Jonathon Fitzpatrick, marketing manager at Canon Production Printing, said, “The new Colorado M Series has lower operating costs, delivers higher margins and is future proofed, thanks to its modular design. It will enable print service providers Level up their Game.”

Tuan Bui, product manager at CPP said, “The Colorado 1650 gained a reputation as a real workhorse in the industry, the M Series is next level.”

Workflow is PrismaGuide XL 3.1 – also now available in the Arizona flatbed series – which Hui says will “simplify” the production process for multi-layered and complex jobs.

Craig Nethercott, managing director, Canon Production Printing Oceania, says, “Ever since they burst onto the market, Colorado printers with UVgel ink have set the highest bar for speed, quality and all-round productivity. On top of these business-critical performance criteria, customers today want to make smart, environmentally-responsible investments in large format graphics printing solutions, that can evolve with them and help them tap into lucrative creative applications, products and markets. With the addition of an easy-care white ink option, the new modular Colorado M-series is the growth engine that businesses need to level up their capabilities and turn ideas into reality.”