The POD Deck Lite XL-A1 long-sheet feeder is a new accessory that can be retrofitted to existing imagePress C850s or bought alongside a new machine. It enables automated duplex feeding of 1,000 banner sheets up to 762mm long making possible extended runs of documents, books and graphic arts applications that benefit from a longer sheet.
Priced around £24,000 on its own, the new deck augments the price of a new imagePress C850 to around £45,000-£50,000, according to Canon product specialist Alison Davies. She described the machine, with or without the new addition, as “very much cost effective”.
Wayne Barlow, Canon UK head of graphics and communications business group, said: “All updates to our machines come from listening to the market, and this one came from hearing our UK customers were looking for ways to differentiate themselves and grow their market base.
“You can see bigger-format printing popping up in a variety of markets and the new duplex banner feeder opens up all kinds of mouthwatering opportunities for every printing house in the UK. We are satisfied that it has broad appeal across markets.
“What it gives you over any competition is the ability to operate on different substrates, particularly textured substrates. Its initial appeal came from the creative print market where they like to experiment with these kinds of things, but we are now seeing it sold all over.”
The POD Deck Lite opens up applications including A4 landscape brochures, extended book covers, tri-fold brochures, and creative direct mail.
Canon has made further additions to its imagePress C850 family with the introduction of the PrismaSync v6.0 controller, increasing the speed of colour calibration by three times by using one halftone instead of three. It runs colour validation tests such as Fogra and IdeAlliance automatically.
Additionally, Canon partnered with EFI to launch the new Fiery digital front-end G200, as well as software updates for the DFE H300, in order to support the POD Deck Lite.
“I have worked on the imagePress now for 12 years and it is constantly being improved – it has advanced unbelievably,” said Barlow.
Last November, Wellington communication specialist Synertec entered into a record deal with Canon to spend £5m on 85 new imagePress C850s in order to aid sales growth of 20% yearly. It uses the machines to produce 14 million impressions per month.
