Canon Solutions America, Inc. has joined its colleagues in Canon Europe in the announcement of the completion of more than 1,000 global installations of the Océ Colorado roll-to-roll wide format printer series, powered by UVgel technology. Since September of 2019, the user base operating the Océ Colorado 1640 and 1650 printers achieved combined monthly print volumes of more than 10.7 million square feet.
Implementation of the Océ Colorado printers has expanded, with each installation producing higher volumes than initially forecasted. Sixteen percent of Colorado customers have printed more than 269,000 square feet per year on each Colorado device. Océ Colorado 1640 users have been pleased with the printer’s productivity and suitability for applications where robust, short-term graphics are needed without lamination.
“When I looked at the Océ Colorado 1640 printer, it was better in every way,” said Adam Carver, president of Pixelwerx, based in Plymouth, Minnesota. “It is more productive. It is cheaper to run. The quality is better – even the build quality is much better. The fact is, it has been built in such a superior way that it requires significantly less labor to run, and this is a huge bonus to us.”
Group Imaging, another large format customer of Canon Solutions America, has grown to serve an array of clients throughout the U.S. and Canada with a keen focus on churches, nonprofit ministries, colleges, and mission organizations. Owner Jeff Burris notes that through the years, Group Imaging’s services have transitioned to a wide format, design, and in-house fabrication of displays, banners, screen printing, stands, and exhibits. The Océ Colorado 1640 printer has allowed his company to expand while printing on various applications to diversify their offerings.
“Wallcovering is the main application that we produce on the Océ Colorado 1640 printer, but we also produce a lot of banner applications,” Burris said. “We are also very excited about the possibility of printing on styrene, which we feel will help us differentiate our business from those large, cost-plus shops. The other reason we like to use this product to produce wallcoverings is its durability.”
Earlier this year at FESPA, a prominent European exhibition focused on the screen printing and digital printing industries, Canon introduced the Océ Colorado 1650 as the second member of the Colorado family. Among the innovative features: a new flexible ink for customers producing applications that need to be folded, wrapped, or bent, such as framed canvasses, soft signage, front- and back-lit graphics, surface décor applications like flexible wall coverings, and outdoor applications including vehicle graphics. The latest model also comes equipped with unique Océ FLXfinish technology, which enables customers to choose between gloss or matte effects without the need to change ink or media, offering an even wider range of applications.
“We are working in a dynamic market with constantly evolving application requirements,” said Dick Brouns, vice president Large Format Graphics, Océ Technologies, a Canon Company. “Our R&D philosophy is to listen and work closely with our customers and partners to focus our innovation on actual customer demand. After the initial success of the Océ Colorado 1640, we identified further growth opportunities for customers who can benefit from a matte finish and a more flexible ink.”
Peter Kowalczuk, president of Canon Solutions America, states “The Océ Colorado series of wide format printers, powered by UVgel technology, has successfully filled the gap performance wise between current technologies in the roll-to-roll production market. Our satisfied customers are reaping the benefits of these highly efficient production units to help further grow their businesses.”
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