Canon releases new ColorStream inkjet webs
Canon Production Printing Australia has launched the ColorStream 8000 series of continuous feed inkjet printers, which it says set a new standard for high volume production environments, and which will target offset and continuous feed toner work.
The ColorStream comprises two models, 8133 and 8160, the numbers representing the maximum print speed of each; 133m/min, and 160m/min. Both models will be available in mono and full-colour configurations.
The ColorStream 8000 series uses a new water-based pigment ink set with latex polymer, which Canon says delivers a wide colour gamut that meets Fogra process standards, along with “perfect droplet formation, and deep black and vibrant colours on uncoated paper without any pre-treatment”.
Craig Nethercott, managing director, Canon Production Printing Oceania said, “The 8000 series features advanced technology that takes the ColorStream to a new level of quality, efficiency and productivity.
“We now have the ability to produce more in less time, broaden application reach, explore new markets and grow profit streams.”
With print speeds of up to 2,152 A4 images a minute (15 – 70 million A4 images per month), Canon says the ColorStream 8000 series is set to “easily” handle production peaks, and will reduce run and labour costs by “consolidating volumes from offset and continuous feed toner presses onto the ColorStream”.
Canon says the presses are built on a decade of “continuous innovation in response to customer feedback”, and says the ColorStream 8000 series has been designed to meet the current and future production challenges of corporate and public sector in-plants, print and communication service (transactional and direct mail) providers and specialised commercial printers, such as those producing books, manuals or pharmaceutical leaflets.
The series features new 1,200dpi printheads that Canon says “yield a stunning and consistent” print quality – even at the highest speed – from the first print to the last, “reproducing smoother gradients, homogeneous tints and sharper detail”, and minimising typical inkjet technology artefacts.
Nethercott continues, “The productivity of the series is further improved by the fact that everything that could be automated has been, making the series exceptionally easy to operate and freeing up operator time for other value-added activities. The many automated tasks add to the remarkable uptime (over 90 per cent) of the ColorStream 8000 series, giving users a reliable solution they can really trust.”
The Proactive Maintenance available with the ColorStream 8000 series “offers additional peace of mind” in production planning by delivering predictive maintenance, enabling targeted machine downtimes for service, and avoiding unpredicted downtimes during production.
Nethercott adds, “In a fast-moving market, finding new applications can be crucial to staying competitive. The ColorStream 8000 series features an improved print quality and the ability to print on a wide variety of uncoated, recycled and inkjet treated papers from 40gsm to 160gsm as standard (and selected papers up to 220gsm). So now, print and communication service providers can now proactively respond to the challenges of today’s market and provide high quality promotional applications next to transactional, direct mail and book (mono and full colour) applications.
“This capability is enhanced by the design of the press’s paper path, which, with a maximum print width of 560mm, gives impositioning freedom to create outstanding promotional pieces and maximise book formats.”
The world’s first ColorStream 8000 series customer is Datev eG, the third largest provider of business software in Germany, one of the largest European IT service providers.
Based on customer demand for the fastest ColorStream version, the ColorStream 8160 will be available from today, while the ColorStream 8133 will follow early in the second half of the year. Customers can see the new ColorStream 8000 series by requesting a virtual demo.