Make it big

Introduce Canon and your presence at FESPA this year

We are talking about the production industry, so we are in charge of the production part and we do of course a lot of innovation in small-format, end-to-end solutions, water-based solutions, UV gel, and UV printers. But specifically at FESPA, we focused on the signage and traditional visual communications industry.

An area we are particularly strong in is flatbed technology and on our stand we introduced the Arizona 6100 Mark II. We are also now developing strong technology in UV gel which is in the roll-to-roll market. This saw the premiere launch of our FLXFinish+ technology, which is the only technology where you can combine matte and gloss in the same print job. Before, we used to do it on the same machine, on the same medium, with the same ink, but in different print jobs. You could decide to print something in matte, or you could decide to print something in gloss. Now, the big announcement was that even in the same print job, you can decide which part of the print job you want in matte, and which part you want in gloss. It opens up a lot of opportunities for our end-users and for our partners to really boost their business in the industry.

Can you tell us a bit more about the new Arizona 6100 Mark II?

This is a well-established technology that we have and have been fulfilling customer demand with for the past few years, but this version has some added features. Not only in terms of its style, look, and feel, as the design is very consistent with the rest of the Arizona range, but in terms of its speed and print quality combination to really meet the customer’s expectation and the customer’s needs. Especially after the past two years of challenges, we really need to change the way we produce. That’s why we have the themes ‘Make it Big’, ‘Make it Smart’, and ‘Make it Grow’, we want to enable our customers to print in better quality, faster, in order to satisfy the demand from the market. The Mark II is going exactly in that direction.

Can you also tell us a bit about how the Arizona Series fits with the ‘Make it Big’ message, and some of the types of products that you can print onto?

You can really do anything with this kit. You can personalise stuff before selling, even at the point of sale such as through the packaging being printed also with our technology. Of course, you can use our software for web printing and web shopping, and then for delivery by deciding how many pieces, and how much the weight of delivery is. So, it’s an end-to-end solution that enables efficiency, higher and best response time, and again with a stronger quality print. This is well covered by the flatbed line up starting with the recently launched Arizona 135 which is particularly designed for our partner channel. Then for the 1300s with the smaller table and the XT table, and the 2300 with high flow technology which avoids masking the media. This is another massive improvement in application for rigid media. Then we have the 6100 Mark II. So, from low volume to high volume, we have any type of product you may need on the market.

Why was FESPA Global Print Expo 2022 the time to launch this new technology?

Canon is ranking in the top third or fourth position for patents, and we have a very consistent approach to releasing new technology and new features. This is why we are well recognised as a technological partner. If you stay with Canon, you always get an update or upgradable kit to boost your own business. Every year we are launching something.

This year it’s FLXFinish+ or the Arizona 6100 Mark II, but of course the plans for the coming year will also keep people very excited. We want to keep on announcing our technology to provide better support to our stakeholders.

How was FESPA 2022 for Canon generally?

Significantly strong. We decided back in October 2021 at FESPA 2021 in Amsterdam to attend this year, even though nobody was really sure about the participation, or the success of a trade show after the challenging past two years. But we decided that we wanted to lead in this market and we wanted to give to our partners and customers the clear message that we are always beside them, whatever it takes, whatever the challenge is that we are facing. That was the right decision. Some other competitors decided not to show up, which we respect, but having been there, we got this fantastic buzz. We expected from Berlin a fully ‘back to normal’ FESPA and indeed we saw that people have put behind them the last two years’ challenges. Of course, we all know there is still turbulence in the market, but at FESPA this year, we saw a lot of people coming, a lot of people getting inspired by us, but also inspiring us. This is because any time they see something new, anytime we launch new technology, we are inspiring them but we are also getting inspiration from our partners and customers.

They can meet demand, they can think about new application environments where they can fulfil new demands, but above all, they can also be faster and more effective in delivering the printouts that their existing customer base expects from them. We did a test where we took a selfie close to the roll for the output of the Colorado where we had the FLXFinish+ black matte and gloss wallpaper example. We took this selfie, we sent it to our partner end-user, and they immediately asked us ‘what is that?’, ‘how can I get it?’. Because, in the imagination of the print-service-providers, they see this particular feature as a result of offline finishing, varnish or something like that. They didn’t expect to get the final job once and only one time out of the printer. This is when customers say, ‘oh wow, I can really save a lot of time. I can improve my customer satisfaction but I can also above all improve my performance in terms of sales, but also in terms of profit, because I control cost’.

Were there any sustainability messages running alongside the product launches on the Canon stand?

Absolutely, Canon cares a lot about the environment. We have the lowest CO2 emission, and the company mission says ‘working and living together for a common good’. A very important part of this is environmental impact. Our technology is a very low consumption, in terms of electricity because the fusing temperature is the lowest in the industry.  This already has a big impact on the environment.

Of course, the industry is also developing media. For example we have the PVC-free media where we can give a similar performance using a more sustainable media. It’s a cycle, a loop, we are offering this opportunity to our customers, and their customers are asking for improvements, because sustainability is and will become the key asset of a business’ success. Again, we need to do it because we need to care about the environment.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I would like to also talk about the ImagePROGRAF GP Series. This technology is tangible evidence of how Canon is market leaders and we keep on launching new technology. The GP Series is the series with fluorescent inks so it opens up, even in water-based technologies, a new dimension for point-of-sale, for night clubs, where you can really make eye-catching signage and express the message you want to through visual communication. Also, the colour gamut is one of the widest in the industry and this again gives our existing or future customers the opportunity to fulfil more demand. Canon is always regularly launching something new which leaves a good footprint in the industry.

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