The manufacturer (3.2-A30) is showcasing the creative possibility of easily mixing matte and gloss in one print with the new FLXfinish+ UVgel technology.

“It looks like a spot varnish, but it’s using the curing properties of UVgel,” explained Mathew Faulkner, director of marketing & innovation, wide-format printing business Canon Europe.

“By using a longer or shorter cure, customers can produce unique matte and gloss finishes – really precisely and at the same time.”

FLXfinish+ is available immediately and existing users of the Colorado 1630 and 1650 printers can upgrade for a small fee.

Also new is the fastest printer yet in Canon’s Arizona range, the Arizona 6100 Mark II. The flatbed prints at up to 220sqm/hr and is targeted at users handling volumes of up to 300,000sqm/year.

Sister device the Arizona 6100 XTHF Mark II is for applications involving tricky materials including porous cardboard and warped substrates. Its High-Flow technology delivers 15x the suction power of the Arizona XTS.

Canon has also brought its Prisma print production workflow into the world of wide-format with the new Prisma XL Suite. Features includes automation through storing job ‘recipes’, a remote monitoring app to keep printers running 24/7, and cloud-based customer support.

Faulkner said that Canon’s ‘Make it Big’ theme for the show had three themes: “Make it Eye-Catching by using print to stand out, create sales and deliver value; Make it Smart through integration and with print at the heart of an omni-channel workflow’; and Make it Grow with new and emerging applications.”

Faulkner said an example was wallpaper, a growing market for Colorado customers that had now reached one million square metres/year “and that’s just scratching the surface”.