The Canon Image Press C7000 first unveiled at Pack Print International on 26 April 2007 sold eight unite within seven hours

THAILAND – Canon’s investment in exhibition space at Pack Print International has paid off handsomely with the sale of eight of its new high-end Image Press C7000 VP/CI digital machines on the first day of its launch.

The Image Press C7000 VP/CI, which was unveiled for the first time outside Japan, is the first digital press from Canon aimed at the

With a basic configuration costing less than US$200,000, while a full-spec and kitted out top of the range model could cots half as much again, Canon’s ‘voice of the customer’ approach has clearly paid off with the sale of the eight machines to customers in Thailand and Malaysia.

Traditionally, offset printers have been reluctant to invest in digital print because they perceive the digital process to be; of inferior quality, an evolving technology, variable and unpredictable run speeds and a rapidly depreciating asset.

However, according to Koji Tahanashi san, Senior Manager, Business Imaging Solutions Division, Canon “The 500 offset printers we talked to told us that they wanted a press which had precise registration, colour consistency and allowed for total control of the substrate as it passed through the press especially in humid climates such as in South East Asian countries where humidity can be as high as 90% and is absorbed by the paper causing it to expand and distort.”

The Canon C7000 has incorporated solutions to all of these key demands “Internally inspection systems constantly check detect and correct minute registration issues and colour density to stablize colour irregularities by controlling the amount of laser light projected onto the substrate”.

Internal heaters dry the substrate of it’s absorbed humidity as it passes through the press.

Productivity on conventional digital machines depend largely on the paper weight – 80gsm will pass through the machine at a different speed than 200gsm or 300gsm paper weight, which, for the offset printer used to accurate job scheduling can be a frustrating experience since there is no way of telling how long a job is going to be on the press.

The Canon C7000, however, has incorporated an engine processor which automatically controls and maintains a constant print speed of 70 pages per minute on substrates of between 60gsm up to 300gsm.

“Up to now, digital images are easily identifiable due to their excessive gloss” added Andrew Yeah, Marketing Executive, Production Products, “That is because the inks used tend to be oil based. The glossy, raised and often unnatural look of the images have tended to put the printer’s customer off, and no matter how cost efficient and productive a machine, no printer is going to risk customer rejection.

“Our quality is as close to offset quality as is possible thanks to our inking systems. Canon uses 5.5um wax based ink which add the type of punch available on offset.”

The POD (Print On Demand) market requires high registration tolerances particularly onn backed-up, or double sided jobs where show-through will compromise the integrity of the page look. Intelligent Registration Technology gives a professional edge to backing-up double sided jobs to perfectly align key elements, such as text to prevent show-through.

“Finally we have a digital press which offset printers can comfortably integrate into their production workflow to provide either POD or short economical production runs for magazine publishers operating in niche markets who need high offset quality print, but have no need for the minimum quantities where offset becomes economical.” Said Tahanashi san, “The print industry is very conservative in its adoption of new technologies to it is significant that in the Thai market we were able to sell eight units on the first day of the product’s launch”