The Océ ImageStream 3500 has a 4/4 configuration and can print up to 160m/min at 1,200x600dpi on standard coated stocks (rather than specialist inkjet paper) without relying on a bonding agent or primer.
Chris Aked, commercial print group marketing manager at Canon UK, said that the achievement was the result of a new pigment-based ink and new printheads, which have led to a smaller droplet size, resulting in faster drying.
"The heads are the latest 1,200dpi printheads from Kyocera and the droplet size is less than half the current JetStream droplet sizes," said Aked. "We're laying down less ink, so we can dry it quicker. That's been a big challenge in drying the paper in time, so it's that combination of inks, heads and drying that's allowed us to do this."
He added: "When the droplet hits the paper you want it dry as quickly as possible otherwise you're going to get more spread and that causes a real problem in terms of quality. The new pigment-based ink we've developed also helps us to immobilise that ink on the paper as soon as possible."
As with the rest of the Océ inkjet range, the press prints various sizes of drop (the JetStream prints 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12pL droplets), resulting in increased perceived image quality. The exact drop sizes on the ImageStream were not available at the time of writing.
Aked said that as the new pigment inks were optimised for use with the 1,200dpi heads - which are only currently used by Océ in the new ImageStream - they would not be available for the existing JetStream or ColorStream inkjet web presses.
Canon is pitching the press for applications such as high-quality books, brochures, magazines and personalised catalgues, where it will enable consistent output across offset and digital print lines and remove the need for separate stocks for each.
The ImageStream has the 762mm web width and 750mm print width as the JetStream Wide series (including the mono-only JetStream 2300 and the colour/mono JetStream 3300, 4300 and 5500).
It has a monthly duty cycle of between 12m and 109m A4 pages, which Aked said was comparable with the JetStream 4300. "You're talking large run volumes so you're expecting someone to be trying to do on average 30-40m on average I would say," added Aked. "If you're doing any less than 12m, it's just not going to stack up."
The press, which will begin shipping in 2015, is expected to be available with the same range on inline finishing options for books and magazines - from third-party companies such as MBO and Muller Martini - as Océ's existing JetStream presses.
Aked stressed that there was no intention to replace any of the existing JetStream or Colorstream devices with the ImagePress. "In many cases there isn't the requirement for that 1,200dpi head and to be able to print on any stock known to man," he said. "[But] to move more into the commercial printer space and away from transactional then obviously this ability to print on standard offset coated stocks is far more important.
"It's having the right range and the right technology for the right applications. For someone doing high volume books on basic stocks, something like the JetStream 4300 is more than adequate - you don't need 1,200dpi heads to be doing standard books - where we're really targeting this is much more the higher quality books [and] magazines.
"For a long time with inkjet devices you have needed the speciality papers to get that vibrancy or, a coating or a bonding agent, whereas we're now saying, for those higher quality applications this is the platform that will allow you to do that - it's really going and competing now against that offset world."
One potential shortfall versus offset is the lack of any spot colour availability at present.
Canon has yet to confirm pricing information for the new press, although Aked said that the total cost of ownership (TCO) would not be too disimilar to the current Océ inkjet range.
"Pricing will depend on application and configuration, but if you look at the TCO model for an A4 image we expect to be in a similar range to our current inkjet portfolio," he said. "So customers aren't going to be paying a premium from a TCO point of view in relation to what they're paying today."
The press, which has been designed to be 10-50% smaller than rival devices, is powered by the Océ PRISMA workflow and uses Océ's SRA MP controller and the Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE) RIP.
