The imagePress V1000 was handed its global launch yesterday (26 April) at a three-day event at Canon’s Customer Experience Centre (CEC) in Poing, Germany.
Canon describes the compact machine as the next generation of the imagePress platform and within hours of the machine being unveiled to customers, the first sale was secured.
Mathew Faulkner, director of marketing & innovation, wide-format printing business Canon Europe, said feedback on the new engine at the event had been overwhelmingly positive.
“The continuation of innovation in toner and addressing key challenges of our customers; automation, productivity, useability, in terms of changing toner waste and paper while still running are key, as well as the new technologies including POD-SURF, is really exciting,” he added.
Aimed at inplants and commercial printers, the imagePress V1000 fits between the 90ppm light production C910 and the 100ppm flagship C10010VP in Canon’s portfolio.
It features a number of innovations, including being the first machine in Canon’s portfolio capable of automatically duplexing long sheets, up to 1,300mm.
It also features a brand-new transfer technology that enables it to run at its top rated 100ppm across all stocks, from 52-400gsm, as well as textured, synthetic, and metallic media. The new system also offers a much flatter, matt finish than its sister machines.
The substrate flexibility is enabled by the new POD-SURF technology, which as well as a larger diameter heating drum, for more even heat distribution, features an on-the-fly adjustable fixing belt angle to match the paper path for thicker substrates.
The V1000 also boasts a new cooling unit, which means output is 25% cooler, minimising paper curl.
Other significant developments include a two-step inline automatic registration system which offers back-to-back accuracy of 0.7mm, even on long sheets, and inline spectrophotometer for push-button and on-the-fly calibration and, finally, a double sheet detection and ejection unit.
Despite its high specifications, the line, which can run either a Canon PrismaSync or EFI Fiery DFE, has a compact 3sqm footprint even with the Multi-Drawer Paper Deck.
The V1000 boasts a raft of new features
In terms of why the company opted for a traditional CMYK configuration rather than a fifth colour, Faulkner said: “We have a customer-led R&D programme for innovation and when we looked at embellishments and extra colours, if 95% of the workload is CMYK then there are compromises [to that] that come from an extra workstation, so we focused our development on where 95% of our customers work [is].
“Where the opportunities for embellishments exist, then there’s offline or nearline – like the Duplo for foiling and varnishing we’re running downstairs.
“So, for the V1000, we took our cues from things like automation, the ability to have true productivity levels, the ability to run mixed media types. But being customer-led, we never rule out future innovations.”
Pricing for the V1000 is dependent on specification, but UK pricing for a typical configuration is likely to be around £65,000. European shipping starts on 1 June.
The UK is expecting to install a demo machine next month at its Birmingham CEC.
While the V1000 was the undisputed star of the Make It ’22 event, which runs until Thursday, Canon was also running live demos on a wide range of devices, including inkjet engines from the LabelStream and ColorStream portfolios, and the VarioPrint iX3200.
As well as the new V1000, other toner machines being put through their paces included its imagePress siblings the C910 and C10010VP, and VarioStream continuous-feed.
Wide-format kit on display included the Arizona 2380 GTF flatbed, various imagePrografs and a pair of Colorado 1650 roll-to-roll devices.
“We’re really fortunate to have a really broad portfolio, from entry-level toner production all the way through to high-speed inkjet,” said Faulkner.
A raft of kit from partners including Duplo, Komfi, and Zünd also formed part of the demos. While MIS developer PrintIQ had its own booth in the workflow zone.
Canon said it expected to welcome more than 600 customers and prospects from across Europe to Make It ’22. Around 10% of the guests were from the UK. Including resellers and strategic partners, there were nearer 900 guests.
As well as the live event in Poing, which in addition to live demos and Canon presentations also featured a thought-provoking session from futurologist Liselotte Lyngsø, some of the sessions were also livestreamed to various local Canon demo centres across Europe.
