Canon Solutions America Hosts 'Success' Celebration

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Add equal doses of a warm Florida evening breeze, a poolside evening reception at a five-star hotel nestled along the Atlantic Ocean shore line, coupled with the light of a full moon shimmering on the ocean waves, and you have the perfect setting for an opening reception that kicked off Canon Solutions America’s third annual anniversary media event, which was held here Feb. 22-24.

Francis A. McMahon discussed Canon Solutions America’s continued digital press market share growth and new product development within the Production Print Solutions division.

More than 40 industry editors and analysts from across the country heard a series of presentations from executive leaders representing each division of Canon Solutions America. Each business unit also relayed stories of success first-hand through the voice of the customer. Representatives from clients, including Darwill, Impact, Landaal Packaging Systems, Kelmscott Communications, the University of Miami, Salt River Project and Easter Seals, supported the executive presentations with insightful looks into their partnerships with each of the respective business units.

New product developments were also highlighted, giving editors and analysts a first-hand look into Canon Solutions America’s future plans. For example, Francis A. McMahon, senior vice president of marketing, pricing and sales operations support for Production Print Solutions (PPS), gave a sneak peek of new enhancements leading into drupa 2016. On the continuous-feed press side, the Océ ColorStream 6000 Chroma — which employs a new PreFire function that ensures consistent inkjet droplet size and positioning — and the compact-design ColorStream Mono will both debut. A full-color ImageStream 2400 running standard coated papers will also appear for the first time at an open exhibition.

One of the highlights of the anniversary event was a trip to the Customer Experience Center for several product demonstrations, including the VarioPrint i300 cut-sheet inkjet press shown above.

For cut-sheet inkjet, the VarioPrint i300 will offer two new finishing options: the BLM600 complete booklet-making system and the Tecnau TC1530 dynamic cut-sheet perforator. Also new is the ColorGrip option, which enhances image quality on multiple commodity-grade light and heavyweight stocks via an in-line paper conditioning step. A new ink set, formulated to work with ColorGrip, also improves the color gamut on a wide range of media.

The PPS division showed continued support of thINK, an independent community of its customers, updating the audience on plans for its second annual conference, slated for Oct. 10-12 in Boca Raton. Also showcased was “The Inkjet Edge” book, a compilation of expert advice and education for those looking to transition their businesses to inkjet.

Sal Sheikh, vice president of marketing for Large Format Solutions, discussed the evolution of products being produced on Arizona wide-format printers. They range from textured fine art reproductions, to membrane switch overlays, laminate flooring and even printing on glass. The division will showcase Arizona 1200 series flatbed UV presses at drupa. It has also repositioned its Océ ColorWave 500 printer.

The announcement of Canon Solutions America’s new Experience App drew attention as well. The Enterprise Services and Solutions division previewed the app, which enables users to get quick access to all that is happening in the company year-round, while receiving notifications on news, product announcements and services. Users can also contact Canon Solutions America directly through its integrated messaging center feature.

“This year’s event was a reflection of our commitment to creating experiences that showcase the full breadth and scope of Canon’s vision,” noted Toyo Kuwamura, president and CEO of Canon Solutions America. PI