MENA Newswire: Canon today announces that PRINTING United Alliance has recognized the quality of its large format graphics technology with three Pinnacle Product Awards for its Colorado 1630 UVgel roll-to-roll printer and its Arizona 2380 GTF and XTF flatbed printers, as well as a Pinnacle InterTech Award for its Canon FLXfinish+ technology. Each of the 160+ entries in more than 58 categories, spanning analogue, digital, output and non-output technologies, was reviewed by an independent panel of over a dozen judges made up of distinguished decision makers within the printing industry.
Canon products have won Pinnacle Product Awards in the following categories for 2022: Colorado 1630 winning best Roll-to-Roll UV (under 80 in.) Arizona 2380 GTF winning best UV/Latex Flatbed ($200K-500K) Arizona 2380 XTF winning best UV/Latex Flatbed +White ($200K-500K)
Raymond Weiss, Vice President, eLearning and Certification, PRINTING United Alliance, comments, “This juried competition represents the best of the best among commercial hardware, software, consumables, and industrial and screen equipment, and judges are basing their decisions on objective criteria. Some of the categories were decided by tenths of a point—so fierce was the competition this year—and with outstanding entries like the Colorado and Arizona, the judges certainly had their work cut out for them.”
The Canon Colorado 1630 is a 64 inch, roll-to-roll printer that features Canon’s unique UVgel ink technology, combining excellent print quality, best-in-class productivity and expansive application versatility with low cost of ownership. Combining all the media handling and printhead management automation of faster models with modularity of design, the Colorado 1630 allows users to add features as required, keeping the initial cost of acquisition low without sacrificing capability.
Freeing operators to add value in other areas of the business, the Arizona 2380 GTF features award-winning Arizona FLOW technology for zoneless media constraint on the flatbed table. Printing at speeds up to 89 m2/h (958 sq. ft/hr) and with eight color channels employing Light Cyan, Light Magenta, White and/or Varnish, the Arizona 2380 GFT is capable of handling the most demanding mixed media applications. The 125 x 250 cm (49.2 x 98.4 inches) flatbed table is large enough for most rigid media applications and the available Roll Media Option extends its capability to flexible media up to 220 cm (86.6 inches) wide.
The Arizona 2380 XTF also features Arizona FLOW technology and eight color channels but offers increased print speeds up to 95 m2/h (1,023 sq. ft/hr). Its key feature, however, is its massive 308 x 250 cm (121.3 x 98.4 inch) flatbed table, which is large enough to accommodate two 122 x 244 cm (4×8 ft) boards simultaneously for continuous printing of most rigid media applications without stopping for media changes. The Roll Media Option also extends its capability to flexible media up to 220 cm (86.6 inches) wide.
The Pinnacle InterTech Awards recognize significant new technologies that improve or advance the printing industry with exceptional contributions in quality, capability, and productivity, and are predicted to have a major impact on the printing industry.
The following Canon technology has won Pinnacle InterTech Award for 2022: Canon FLXfinish+, which in the opinion of the judges “represented a new revolutionary and unique feature of UVgel technology”. The new Canon FLXfinish+ technology features in its award-winning range of Colorado printers, powered by Canon’s unique UVgel inks. FLXfinish+ is a unique UVgel feature that allows large format graphics customers to use only one ink set to produce matte prints, gloss prints and mixed matte and gloss on the same print, independent of the media – without a varnish or additional consumables.
Combining the best aspects of alternative ink technologies in one, UVgel offers the color gamut and light fastness of eco-solvent, the fit-for-indoor use and quick drying time of latex and the productivity and low-temperature printing process of UV. And with customers benefitting from zero VOC emissions, zero hazardous air pollutants and a low average ink usage of 6.4ml/m2 across the more than 2,500 UVgel engines installed worldwide, UVgel has already proved itself to be a sustainable and cost-efficient alternative for latex and eco-solvent technology.
Jennifer Kolloczek, European Planning, Marketing & Innovation Senior Director, Production Printing at Canon Europe comments, “We’re delighted the Arizona and Colorado models and the Canon FLXfinish+ technology have been recognized by PRINTING United Alliance for their innovation. These awards exemplify our continued commitment to developing innovative technology and help print service providers find new ways of tackling the challenges and tapping into the opportunities of the growing large format graphics market.”