There’s been a lot of big news from Canon Copiers this last month. Maybe it’s something in the spring air or perhaps this trenche of recent product releases has more to do with IPEX - the printing industry extravaganza which has just taken place at Birmingham’s NEC. Well cynics amongst you, please hold your tongues, for Canon has one final announcement to make - the launch of three beautiful new colour production presses, which bring unprecedented levels of performance to the digital printing sector. It seems clear from these imagePRESS C7010VP, C6010VP and C6010 flagship machines, Canon has saved its most exciting announcement till last. Here, we’ll provide you with the low-down on the new extended imagePRESS series.

The imagePRESS C7000VP Digital Printer

Since Canon entered the high-quality, high-volume digital colour production print market with the C7000VP at the last IPEX show, the imagePRESS range of printers has proved hugely popular with customers worldwide. The figures really speak for themselves - over 1000 Canon imagePRESS colour engines have been sold in Europe since July 2007 and it’s estimated they’re producing a staggering 100 million pages every month.

The new C7010VP, C6010VP and C6010 Digital Printers

ImagePRESS C7000VP was a truly groundbreaking machine. Canon’s hoping the same performance and efficiency levels will prove equally attractive across the expanded imagePRESS range. The new C7010VP, C6010VP and C6010 will give users a chance to enjoy greater profitability, through increased productivity and flexibility, and enjoy the other characteristic imagePRESS benefits of exceptional quality reproduction and maximum performance on a whole gamut of media types. Some new features on these presses include faster duplex and simplex output on a wider range of stocks (60 to 325 gsm) as well as higher productivity on mixed sided print jobs, so that commercial printers, Print-for-Pay businesses and Central Reporogrpahics Departments (CRD’s) may enjoy much greater flexibility than has been possible so far. And to top all that, the new series is even more reliable than predecessors, with better uptime reducing users’ service costs and the associated loss of revenues.

X-Rite i1 Process Control v3 Colour Management Software

Proving that Canon always remains on top its game when it comes to industry-leading software, the new imagePRESS series come equipped with X-Rite i1 Process Control v3, an enhanced version of Canon’s imagePRESS colour management software. The package enables much enhanced colour capabilities and offers various other benefits. Spot Colour Optimisation gives users the ability to add specific Spot Colours, for example to reflect branding, into the profiling process, so that the imagePRESS can be effectively ‘tuned’ to hit them with the greatest levels of accuracy.

i1Process Control v3 also provides user with access to all the latest PANTONE® colour libraries and with the new ‘Print Safe Colours’ function, permits for the viewing of colours in users’ digital libraries, so that each can be checked to ensure they’ll be accurately reproduced, before printing.

imagePRESS Compatible Print Servers

The new imagePRESS series is also compatible with the new range of Canon controllers, the imagePRESS Server 1200, 2200 and 3200. Based on EFI technology, the controllers feature a new operating system – not featured on previous Canon controllers – which delivers even faster RIPPING speeds and job turnaround, obviously meaning more usable uptime. And producing further efficiency gains, the new controllers also include Adobe’s PDF Print Engine (APPE). Customers will also be given the option of purchasing Canon’s range of controllers based on imagePRESS CR Server A7000 which is powered by CREO Colour Server technology.

Trevor Dodsworth, Head of Product Marketing for Canon UK, Canon UK Business Solutions has said about the new imagePRESS range

"With the launch of the new flagship devices, we’re confident that our customers will reap the increased benefits offered by the imagePRESS C7010VP series, greater productivity and uptime and quicker turnaround on key applications. Extending their print-on-demand capabilities, the enhanced engines will also give customers the confidence to handle the most time-critical and premium-quality digital print jobs and enable them to pursue growth opportunities by making the leap into new areas of business."

Canon Copiers, as a preferred Canon Solutions Accredited Partner, is pleased to be one of the first companies to be able to offer the extended imagePRESS range to UK customers and is inviting enquiries about the range at the moment.