With its new Océ VarioPrint 6000 Titan monochrome press, launched a month earlier in August, taking centre stage in a live printing demonstration, more than 500 prospective and current customers came to the three-day event at the Océ's German headquarters.
In his opening speech, Océ chief marketing officer Christian Unterberger announced that, since release, the manufacturer had sold 100 units of the VarioPrint i300 and 1,000 units of the ColorStream series of presses, and 6,000 Arizona flatbed devices.
The theme of the event was to "celebrate the power of print". Canon presented its range of tech alongside solutions from its finishing and workflow partners in order to show what it could do for commercial printers and in-house print departments to enhance their businesses.
In order to showcase what the Canon range can offer customers, the company put together an advertising campaign for a fictional cosmetics brand, 'Elemental'. Using the full range of Canon equipment on display at the event, the campaign included assets ranging from promotional communications and retail point-of-sale materials, to instore décor and promotional packaging.
Jeppe Frandsen, Canon Europe executive vice-president, said: “Print service providers and in-house printers have seen how Canon has continued to develop its offering for the professional graphic arts market since Drupa 2016 just over a year ago.
"At last year's business days in Düsseldorf we showed visitors the huge range of opportunities we can help them create for their business, sharing an enormous portfolio of real print applications to motivate them to evolve by unleashing the power of print.
"Having expanded our graphic arts portfolio since then with exciting new solutions for the production of high-quality direct marketing collateral and wide-format signage and graphics, they found even more to inspire them here in Poing."
The Titan series was designed as a further development of Canon's VarioPrint 6000 family. It represents a substantial redesign, including a robust steel body to meet industrial production requirements and an increased maximum running speed of 328 A4 images per minute.
Also under the spotlight was the new Océ Colorado 1640, which is the first roll-to-roll printer built to use Canon's new UVgel technology. The precise, instantly pinned UVgel dot produces sharp images with minimal dot gain and virtually no satellites, while the stable, controlled dot ensures colour consistency, according to Canon.
"Through the introduction of the Océ Colorado 1640 printer with UVgel technology, Canon is delivering the optimal balance of quality, productivity, automation, application range and operating cost," said Canon Europe director of graphics and communications Mark Lawn. "This new printer redefines the boundaries of roll-to-roll printing, enabling graphics producers to evolve by extending their capabilities and pursuing new revenue opportunities."
Canon took time to celebrate a successful decade of Océ Arizona flatbed technology. Its 6,000th Arizona machine was installed this year at Technipub in Lesparre, near Bordeaux, France. The 2280 XT model joined an Arizona 550 XT installed there in 2012.
