Digital Digest: Canon U.S.A. Talks 'One Canon' New UVgel Printer

al Baboyian (left) conducts a Q&A session with SourceLink COO Keith Chadwell, who is now operating an Océ VP i300 press.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The venue for the “One Canon Event 2017,” held here March 7-9 at the elegant Boca Raton Resort & Club, may have been in Florida, but all eyes were directed toward Colorado. That’s because the event served as the worldwide launch of the 64˝ Océ Colorado 1640 roll-to-roll printer built around Canon’s new UVgel technology. UVgel is at the core of what will be an upcoming family of roll-to-roll printers that are well-suited for the graphics market.

Prior to the actual unveiling of the Colorado 1640, 45-year industry veteran Mal Baboyian — who serves as senior VP for Canon U.S.A.’ s Production Print Solutions (PPS) and Large-Format Solutions (LFS) divisions — described UVgel technology as an industry game-changer. “I think this is the most important product introduction for our LFS division in 25 years,” he proclaimed to the roughly 45 industry trade press and analysts attending the meeting.

(For more detailed information about the new Océ Colorado 1640 wide-format printer and UVgel technology, turn to the “Tech Talk” report that appears on page 44 in this issue.)

The three-day event also commemorated Canon U.S.A.’s Business Imaging Solutions Group (BISG) for its steady progress since it launched the “One Canon” business strategy last August. That initiative centers around Canon’s family of companies working together through one voice to ensure better client access to all of its B2B offerings.

During a series of presentations divided into the areas of Production Print, Large Format and Enterprise Solutions, along with dealer relations, several Canon U.S.A. executives provided status updates about the different business units. They also hosted Q&A sessions with a range of Canon customers, enabling them to share their real-life experiences.

Baboyian, for example, talked with SourceLink COO Keith Chadwell, whose company prints 640 million images per year. An early adopter in 2011 of Canon’s continuous-feed ColorStream 3500 production inkjet press, the direct mail/statement printing services provider more recently installed an Océ VarioPrint i300 sheetfed color production inkjet model. Chadwell described the overall cost savings, increased productivity and higher press uptimes that the VP i300 inkjet press has provided in comparision to the toner digital devices that SourceLink had been operating.

Francis A. McMahon served as the master of ceremonies throughout the One Canon Event 2017.

The VP i300 has proven to be a big success for Canon. Through the end of 2016, 70 VP i300s had been installed worldwide, producing over 1 billion total printed impressions, with average monthly volumes exceeding 2 million impressions, and average uptime of 97%, according to Baboyian.

Vaibhav Agarwal, director of procurement services at the University of Notre Dame, and Brian Robbins, executive director at the Bird Marella law firm, also participated in Q&A style interviews to share their customer perspectives.

In addition, Canon U.S.A. reiterated its commitment to strong dealer partnerships by inviting independent Canon dealer Jerry Blaine, of Leslie Digital Imaging (a.k.a. LDI Color ToolBox), and his customer, Howard Zimmerman, of Howard L. Zimmerman Architects P.C., to speak alongside Mason Olds, senior VP/GM, sales, BISG, at Canon U.S.A.

To add to the customer testimonials and executive presentations, attendees participated in a special product pavilion and software solutions showcase. Canon announced the expansion of its existing pact with Box Inc. and the beginning of a new relationship with mxHero Inc., a cloud service for intelligent email management and collaboration.

Also making its debut was the varioPRINT 140 monochrome toner-based printer series. Consisting of cut-sheet models that print at speeds up to 140 ipm, it is positioned for small- to mid-sized commercial printers with average monthly print volumes up to 800,000 letter-size images.

Guests attending the solutions showcase were also encouraged to take a copy of the newest book available from Canon Solutions America, titled “Inkjet Workflows — How to Make Your Work Flow … Efficiently.” Suited for printers looking to integrate production inkjet technology, it provides in-depth research and discussions about all steps within the production workflow process.

In addition, the dates and venue for thINK 2017 were announced. The third annual conference for Canon Solutions America production printing users will be held once again at the Boca Raton Resort & Club from Oct. 9-11.