The four new models - the Océ Arizona 640 GT, Océ Arizona 640 XT, Océ Arizona 660 GT and Océ Arizona 660 XT - all offer 25% higher production speeds than the equivalent Océ Arizona 550 series they replace. The printers feature Océ's VariaDot technology and will be priced between £170,000 and £250,000.

GT models have a standard table size of 1.25x2.5 metres, the XT printers 2.5x3.05 metres. Both formats can be can be configured with a role-to-roll option. 

The 660 models also offer six independent ink channels which can be used to add additional cyan and magenta inks for enhanced quality at high production speeds, or to introduce varnish and white ink for decorative applications. White ink configurations include ‘Varnish + White’ for printing white on non-white substrates, or ‘Double-Opacity White’ to achieve strong opacity in a single printing pass. Océ Arizona 640 models will be field upgradable to six-channel 660 models. 

Dominic Fahy, business group director of display graphics and imaging supplies at Canon UK, said that European and North American beta test users have so far been using the series for a wide range of applications.

"Retail is the biggest one. But we are also seeing it used for poster printing and, because of the quality, photographic applications," he said.

He added that potential users would range from those wanting to upgrade an existing Arizona or other lower productivity flatbed printer, to screen and litho printers new to the flatbed market.

Fahy reported that one Océ Arizona 600 Series model had so far been ordered by an unnamed digital retail printer in London. He said that, with the series becoming commercially available at the end of July, Canon was expecting several more on-stand orders at Fespa.

"What sets this series apart is that the cost of ownership is very competitive and the quality is high," said Fahy. "The reliability of the system is also high. Arizonas are produced in high numbers compared to competitor systems, so they are at a later stage of evolution."