The Islington printer has installed a 24" iPF 6450 in place of an Epson device to supply press proofs of newspaper ads to brand owners on behalf of their advertising agencies.

Meanwhile, a new 60" iPF 9400 has replaced an older iPF 9100 as the firm's main large format production machine. Both new Canon wide format printers are powered by an EFI Fiery RIP.

Face Creative production director Colin Harding said the main advantage of buying two Canon printers was that the smaller iPF 6450 could act as a proofing device as well as a back-up for the iPF 9400 large format production printer.

"Epson up till now has cornered the market in proofing and most people are running an Epson on a GMG RIP solely as a proofing device - but that's an expensive solution because you're not getting any other use out of it," he said. "I wanted a machine that could also act as a back-up production device.

"We've bought the smaller Canon for the purpose of proofing, which it's perfect for with its inbuilt densitometer, but because it's basically the same machine as the larger iPF 9400 it gives us a back-up. We can go up to A1 on the 6450 and A0 or double A0 on the 9400."

M Partners Wide sales director Gary Doman said: "The proofing for print market is huge, and Epson currently has almost complete ownership. These new Canon units are exceptional and will now give printers a choice.

"With definite advantages in both throughput speed and quality, we believe that Canon now has the edge. Printers seeking a large format proofing solution need to see these machines in action."

Harding praised the after sales service of M Partners, which was appointed as a Canon reseller in December following the launch of its wide-format division (M Partners Wide) last November.