Canons Concerto in London
Canon Digital Printing recently introduced new devices and solutions for the office and production sectors.
Digital printing Canon recently unveiled new devices and solutions for the office and production sectors at the Canon Concerto customer event in London last week, where Canon Europe (Canon) presented new products and solutions to its UK and Scandinavian customers and European trade journalists. The exhibition space in the Old Billingsgate Market near the Tower was divided into two equal parts - for Office and for Production. Siegfried Alder, Product Marketing Manager Professional Solutions at Canon Switzerland, was delighted with this situation. This proves that the company is becoming increasingly involved in the production segment.
New systems for the office...Canon has introduced two new multifunctional devices, expanding its range of black and white printers. The new iR 2230 (the first two digits indicate the speed in A4 pages/minute) and iR 3530 are suitable for small workgroups. The devices have been designed to save space and are equipped with print, copy, scan and fax functions.
Overall, Canon seems to be meeting the wishes of customers in the office sector. Requirements from the banking and insurance sectors have been implemented: By means of confirmation via chip card or fingerprint (both optional), documents that were previously transferred to the printing system can be output on the device. USB memory sticks can now also be used to copy and print data directly onto the output device - conversely, originals can be scanned and saved onto the stick. This is all possible thanks to the new Meap device operator platform (see box).
Canon also offers products that can be assigned to both the office and production segments. These printing systems with outputs between 70 and 105 A4 pages/minute have experienced performance increases and have been renamed to reflect the new output performance. In addition, the iR 8070, iR 9070, iR 85+ and iR 105+ printing systems will also be equipped with the new Meap platform.
... and production segmentSince the beginning of the year, Canon has been offering two new high-performance printing systems for the black and white segment: the iR 125 and iR 150. The printers, which print up to 125 and 150 A4 pages/minute respectively, also offer improved print quality thanks to a new imaging technology. The - new - up to nine paper cassettes can store either color pre-prints or a total of 12,000 sheets of paper. With optionally available, attachable finishing modules, perforated, stapled or bound (cover must be pre-grooved) documents or printed matter can be produced quickly and easily.
Canon has also upgraded three of its rips or controllers (for processing the transferred data and controlling the color printers). The ColorPass Z6100, Z7100 and Z7500 products (developed by EFI) have been optimized for document processing speed, job management, variable data printing and more. The controllers are suitable for controlling Canon's CLC4000 and CLC5100 color printers.
Canon also presented new software for compiling documents. The iW Publishing Manager Pro, a complete solution, is designed for agencies and in-house print >> reies. The easy-to-use software enables users to combine Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF documents into Canon's own iWD data format. Scanned documents and database information can also be attached. The pages can be combined in the simplest way using drag & drop and, of course, output. If desired, the iWD document created in this way can also be converted into a PDF document with software support and forwarded - however, specific output parameters are then lost.
Positioned differentlyIn the office sector and in solution concepts, Canon has consolidated its position with the new products and solutions presented. The company, which invests eight percent of its turnover in research and development, is the clear market leader in most segments in Switzerland. The technology is right, as is the user platform.
In the production sector (black and white), Canon relies on OEM products (i.e. products that Canon purchases and sells under its own name) for the new iR 125 and 150 printers; however, Canon sets itself apart from its competitors with special solutions. For example, Canon offers connections to ERP and merchandise management systems for both printers in order to transfer and process data from these systems and to ensure that all forms, invoices etc. are actually printed.
On the other hand, Canon is struggling somewhat in the partly neglected Production (color) segment. The company does not have a printing system that is comparable to systems such as the DocuColor iGen3 (Xerox), NexPress (Kodak NexPress), Indigo Press (HP) or Xeikon 5000 (Xeikon). Not that the CLCx devices are not high-quality printing systems, but there is a clear gap between them and the competition. If Canon wants to score points here in the future, the company will not be able to avoid developing its own new printing systems. The success of the highly accepted Office products shows that the Japanese company is capable of doing this.
MeapThe "multifunctional and integrated application platform" Meap is based on the Java programming language developed by Sun Microsystems and is integrated in all newer Imagerunner devices that end with the number 70 (e.g. iR 8070). In contrast to other systems, Canon does not rely on a server-based solution, but gives the output devices intelligence and more functionalities. Thanks to Java, the user interface (GUI) on the device can also be highly customized.
Meap is modular. A total of six applications for different needs have been available since the beginning of March. These meet security requirements, enable the transfer of documents via USB stick or the management of accounts (management of print jobs, e.g. to allocate printouts to cost centers). Further Meap programs will follow. (jf)
New controllers are available for Canon's CLC4000 and CLC5100 color printing systems, enabling better print quality.
The new iR 2230 multifunctional device is designed to save space and is suitable for small office environments.
The iR 125 (pictured above), iR 150 and iR 105+ (right) printing systems are Canon's top models in black and white printing.
Jürgen Franck
New systems for the office...Canon has introduced two new multifunctional devices, expanding its range of black and white printers. The new iR 2230 (the first two digits indicate the speed in A4 pages/minute) and iR 3530 are suitable for small workgroups. The devices have been designed to save space and are equipped with print, copy, scan and fax functions.
Overall, Canon seems to be meeting the wishes of customers in the office sector. Requirements from the banking and insurance sectors have been implemented: By means of confirmation via chip card or fingerprint (both optional), documents that were previously transferred to the printing system can be output on the device. USB memory sticks can now also be used to copy and print data directly onto the output device - conversely, originals can be scanned and saved onto the stick. This is all possible thanks to the new Meap device operator platform (see box).
Canon also offers products that can be assigned to both the office and production segments. These printing systems with outputs between 70 and 105 A4 pages/minute have experienced performance increases and have been renamed to reflect the new output performance. In addition, the iR 8070, iR 9070, iR 85+ and iR 105+ printing systems will also be equipped with the new Meap platform.
... and production segmentSince the beginning of the year, Canon has been offering two new high-performance printing systems for the black and white segment: the iR 125 and iR 150. The printers, which print up to 125 and 150 A4 pages/minute respectively, also offer improved print quality thanks to a new imaging technology. The - new - up to nine paper cassettes can store either color pre-prints or a total of 12,000 sheets of paper. With optionally available, attachable finishing modules, perforated, stapled or bound (cover must be pre-grooved) documents or printed matter can be produced quickly and easily.
Canon has also upgraded three of its rips or controllers (for processing the transferred data and controlling the color printers). The ColorPass Z6100, Z7100 and Z7500 products (developed by EFI) have been optimized for document processing speed, job management, variable data printing and more. The controllers are suitable for controlling Canon's CLC4000 and CLC5100 color printers.
Canon also presented new software for compiling documents. The iW Publishing Manager Pro, a complete solution, is designed for agencies and in-house print >> reies. The easy-to-use software enables users to combine Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF documents into Canon's own iWD data format. Scanned documents and database information can also be attached. The pages can be combined in the simplest way using drag & drop and, of course, output. If desired, the iWD document created in this way can also be converted into a PDF document with software support and forwarded - however, specific output parameters are then lost.
Positioned differentlyIn the office sector and in solution concepts, Canon has consolidated its position with the new products and solutions presented. The company, which invests eight percent of its turnover in research and development, is the clear market leader in most segments in Switzerland. The technology is right, as is the user platform.
In the production sector (black and white), Canon relies on OEM products (i.e. products that Canon purchases and sells under its own name) for the new iR 125 and 150 printers; however, Canon sets itself apart from its competitors with special solutions. For example, Canon offers connections to ERP and merchandise management systems for both printers in order to transfer and process data from these systems and to ensure that all forms, invoices etc. are actually printed.
On the other hand, Canon is struggling somewhat in the partly neglected Production (color) segment. The company does not have a printing system that is comparable to systems such as the DocuColor iGen3 (Xerox), NexPress (Kodak NexPress), Indigo Press (HP) or Xeikon 5000 (Xeikon). Not that the CLCx devices are not high-quality printing systems, but there is a clear gap between them and the competition. If Canon wants to score points here in the future, the company will not be able to avoid developing its own new printing systems. The success of the highly accepted Office products shows that the Japanese company is capable of doing this.
MeapThe "multifunctional and integrated application platform" Meap is based on the Java programming language developed by Sun Microsystems and is integrated in all newer Imagerunner devices that end with the number 70 (e.g. iR 8070). In contrast to other systems, Canon does not rely on a server-based solution, but gives the output devices intelligence and more functionalities. Thanks to Java, the user interface (GUI) on the device can also be highly customized.
Meap is modular. A total of six applications for different needs have been available since the beginning of March. These meet security requirements, enable the transfer of documents via USB stick or the management of accounts (management of print jobs, e.g. to allocate printouts to cost centers). Further Meap programs will follow. (jf)
New controllers are available for Canon's CLC4000 and CLC5100 color printing systems, enabling better print quality.
The new iR 2230 multifunctional device is designed to save space and is suitable for small office environments.
The iR 125 (pictured above), iR 150 and iR 105+ (right) printing systems are Canon's top models in black and white printing.
Jürgen Franck
