On Monday, April 17th, Canon Inc. came to RIT’s School of Print Media to give a presentation on its new high-end digital press, dubbed the imagePRESS “X,” which is now known as the imagePRESS C7000VP after its unveiling at IPEX 2006 in Europe.

SPM graduate and Product Marketing Associate for Canon Matthew Poliniak lead the presentation and explained the ins and outs of the machine. Poliniak stated that Canon is looking to compete with Xerox’s DocuColor 7000 and 8000 lines, as well as Kodak’s NexPress 2100. To do this, Canon is pulling some tricks out of its sleeve in order to give the competition a run for their money.

First, Canon expects the machine to be able to run stock up to 300gsm at 70 pages per minute without slowing down. In other words, no matter how heavy the stock gets (up to 300gsm), the imagePRESS is going to be able to print at top speed. This feat is accomplished by a special fusing system that Canon has implemented. These sheets of paper can max out in size at 19.2 inches by 13 inches, which is comparable to the machines it expects to compete against.

Canon is also implementing special toner and transfer belt systems that are supposed to greatly reduce the extra gloss effect and raised feeling that is found on many digital prints, including prints from lower-end DocuColors,
as well as from the HP Indigo.

From seeing the sample print that was provided, it seems like Canon has done a pretty good job in accomplishing its goal thus far. The imagePRESS is striving for image quality and can print at 1,200 dots per inch at a bit-depth of 4. The imagePRESS will be different than other Canon imaging products because it will have a steel frame in order to ensure physical stability. It will run on an EFI-based imagePRESS server system for workflow, and will be JDF-enabled.

The imagePRESS C7000VP is still in the beta testing phase, and is going to be tested at locations on both the east and west coasts. It is expected to be released in Fall 2006, just in time for GraphExpo 2006 in Chicago. With an estimated price tag of around $250,000, the imagePRESS C7000VP will be a welcomed competitor in the realm of high-end digital printing presses, and the School of Print Media is privileged to have had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of what it has to offer.