UK customers have marked a key milestone at Canon with the confirmation of its position as the global No.1 provider of inkjet continuous feed inkjet mono and colour print systems.
Christian Unterberger, Executive Vice-President of Océ Printing Systems, a Canon company, told 500 customers from 23 countries at a technology forum that more than 1,000 systems had been supplied worldwide.
The guests attended the Canon Commercial Printing Business Days held last week, 20-22 September. This future insights event involved live demonstrations, as well as workflow solutions, at Canon’s Customer Experience Center at Poing, near Munich, Germany.
Canon’s line-up of both Continuous Feed and Sheet Fed Inkjet solutions included the new Océ ColorStream Chroma and Océ VarioPrint i300, together with the first showing since drupa of the upgraded imaging system ColorGrip, the Océ ImageStream 2400 and Océ ImageStream 3500, the Océ VarioStream 4000 and the Océ VarioStream 7170. The complementary cut-sheet systems included Canon’s new toner-based full-colour flagship imagePRESS C1000VP and the monochrome Océ VarioPrint 6000. Finally, the DreamLabo 5000 for photobook printing was also featured.
“It’s been a really interesting day,” said Colin Ray, Manufacturing Manager, Lightning Source UK. “Not only have I been given insights with live demonstrations of an array of systems in production print, but it’s good to see the partners such as those involved in finishing. The networking has also been extremely important and I’ve spoken to a lot of other Canon customers, including business owners from a variety of backgrounds. The highlight for me was the factory tour – what an array of systems that are produced at Poing!”
Kevin Spindler is Director of Signature Gifts Ltd, one of the UK’s leading personalised gift companies, which is an exclusive user of Canon print systems. “Visiting the production print manufacturing headquarters in Poing has been a real eye-opening experience,” he said. “It has been really useful to see the latest technologies, as well as a glimpse into what the future will bring. Bearing in mind our production facilities are in a relatively remote location, the renowned reliability, quality and servicing of the systems is absolutely vital. It’s been a real partnership approach.”
Another visitor to the event was Giles Lock, Managing Director of Top Print, based in Alton, Hampshire. “The Canon Commercial Print Business Days’ event has been highly informative and a great opportunity to further assess both hardware and software options available from Canon,” said Giles. “Having installed two Canon C800 print engines linked to PRISMAPrepare in August, I was particularly interested in seeing what growth opportunities Canon envisaged. The presenters shared some interesting ideas and I found their presentations thought provoking. The event also provided a chance for me to reacquaint myself with some industry colleagues in a relaxing and welcoming environment; I’m very pleased to have been a guest once more.”
Craig Nethercott, Director, Commercial Printing, Canon UK, said: “Our customers understand that Canon’s philosophy is about a true partnership and not just about selling printing systems. The feedback we receive at such events is that the Canon Customer Experience Centre provides the perfect platform to educate, network and for us to further engage by demonstrating our worldwide expertise and leadership in inkjet presses in both monochrome and colour. This is why we hold a series of annual events focusing one specific marketplace or application, such as the Future Book Forum, scheduled for 2-4 November in Poing. This will bring both the publishers and book printers together to discuss market trends, new business models and future opportunities.”
