Canon Pushes Performance Of Successful varioPRINT iX-series With New Software Release

To date, there have been more than 125 installations of the varioPRINT iX-series across EMEA, proving the press to be a popular investment choice in the Digital B3 sheetfed segment. The varioPRINT iX-series has also been a preferred product for print service providers (PSPs) looking to invest in Canon's products for the first time, with over 45% of customers choosing the varioPRINT iX as their first investment in Canon production printing hardware, having installed it to complement existing presses or to replace legacy technologies.

The varioPRINT iX-series offers a high level of automation and multiple efficiency features that support PSPs in saving labour costs and reducing maintenance activity, resulting in an improved return on investment and cost efficiencies. Its innovative iQuariusIX ink and printing technology deliver high output quality, achieving a 91% reproduction of Pantone spot colours, which has been verified by certifications from Fogra and Idealliance.

varioPRINT iX users have also reaped the benefits of its media versatility. With more than 1,000 approved substrates, including standard offset coated, uncoated and creative media, varioPRINT iX-series customers have been printing a wide range of applications, ranging from brochures, premium direct mails and books, to flyers and calendars. With the fastest print speed in its class, unparalleled productivity and a proven uptime of over 90%, the top ten varioPRINT iX-series users are printing, on average, over six million images per month.

Richard Kampert, Managing Director at the Dutch commercial online printer, Kampert-Nauta comments, “Since we installed our first varioPRINT iX3200, we’ve been very impressed with the high print quality and productivity we’ve been able to achieve, especially when printing on thicker substrates for our greeting cards, for example. And as our online business generally requires quick turnarounds, the high uptime of the varioPRINT iX has also been an important benefit for us. We therefore increased the volume we were printing on the iX, generated from new business and moving small jobs from our offset presses. As a result, we needed to invest in a further device to fulfil the increasing demand and made the decision to install a second varioPRINT iX3200 on our premises in 2022. Looking to the future, we see inkjet as the technology that is going to best meet our needs —producing great quality on a wide range of stocks and being very reliable and cost-efficient, it really has everything a commercial printer requires”

Setting a new benchmark for quality, productivity and efficiency
Listening closely to customer requirements and with its focus on continuously pushing the boundaries, Canon is launching a new software release R4.3, which delivers an exceptional level of image quality, efficiency and productivity. It gives customers the ability to bring the advantages of short-run or personalised digital printing to even more applications, such as demanding premium direct mail and high-quality, image-rich books. This is achieved through a new, automatic image quality verification system, which scans every sheet to check the quality and dynamically makes system adjustments as needed.

Other performance advances include the automatic customer media validation process (MVP) for the easy set-up of new media with the support of a wizard, as well as improved detection of potential multi-sheet feeds in the paper input module (PIM), which diverts detected sheets to the sentry bin. No operator intervention is required and production continues uninterrupted.

The update also brings a host of workflow benefits with the Canon PRISMAsync controller such as SMB hot-folder support, subset support via JDF, media handling for two-sided media with different front/back treatment and improved encrypted disk support.

Jennifer Kolloczek, European Planning, Marketing & Innovation Senior Director, Production Print at Canon Europe comments, “Due to its high quality and exceptional productivity, even on heavy media up to 350 gsm, the varioPRINT iX has proved to be a popular investment option within the commercial print market and feedback from customers has been extremely positive. As with all our technologies, we are continuously investing in research and development to ensure they are delivering to their maximum and supporting users with their changing needs, enabling them to future-proof their businesses. Both existing and new users will now benefit from the new benchmark we are setting in high-quality, efficient and productive print manufacturing with release R4.3.“

The software-driven release is retrofittable to all varioPRINT iX devices and will be rolled out to our customers starting in March 2023.