Imaging giant Canon is launching a new roll-to-roll 64” printer which uses a newly invented UV Gel, which says Canon means super-fast output at high quality for low ink cost.
Pitching the Colorado 1640 between the eco solvent market and the high end UV and latex market Canon says the UV Gel means instant drying and low ink cost, typically between 20-40 per cent lower than conventional inks.
Adrian Morris, display graphics manager at Canon says, “Canon took the best of eco solvent, latex and UV inks and created UV Gel. It has the colour gamut of eco solvent, the no odour of latex and the productivity of UV. UVgel ink is faster drying, more viscous, and less liquid than other inks, giving better end results for printers.”
Garry Muratore, product manager Display Graphics, Canon says, “Colorado will enable small and medium sized printers to compete at the top end of print, thanks to its super high productivity, which at 159sqm per hour is four times as fast as many machines out there.”
At the highest level of quality for close up indoor applications, the printer operates at a speed of 40sqm an hour.
Canon will launch the Colorado 1640 at PacPrint, although it is already taking orders, with delivery in the second half of the year. Pricing has not yet been finalised, but is likely to be around the $100,000 range. Ink pricing will be competitive with other ink types. The Colorado is a 700kg printer, which says Muratore is a reflection of the rigidity of the printer necessary to handle the high output.
Among the new features on the Océ Colorado is a self-cleaning print head, meaning the days of a technician sitting down with alcohol and a cotton swab are past. And the days of operators loading media onto spindles are gone, as Colorado has a drawer into which two media rolls can be loaded.
Muratore says, “Canon UVgel technology incorporates continuous automatic nozzle failure compensation on the fly. This ensures that even when a malfunctioning nozzle is detected it is temporarily switched off and replaced by neighbouring nozzles – a fully automated process that requires no operator intervention. By testing pre-emptively, nozzle defects are identified before they impact negatively on print quality.”
“The printer also features Océ MediaStep System, which uses an optical feedback loop that continuously monitors media advance to automatically correct the subsequent step size as needed.”
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