Canon Highlights Océ Arizona 6100 Series of Wide-Format Printers at Customer Event In Vancouver

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—Early spring and the breathtaking vistas offered by Vancouver provided an invigorating backdrop for the unveiling of the latest release by Canon U.S.A. in the Océ Arizona flatbed wide-format printer line for rigid media applications.

More than 60 clients and prospects from 10 countries converged on the Fairmont Hotel in this breathtaking city on April 5th for the Canon VIP Customer Event, which featured a live demonstration of the new wide-format Océ Arizona 6100 series at Océ's regional office in suburban Richmond, British Columbia. The series includes the six-color Océ Arizona 6160 XTS and the seven-color 6170 XTS.

Canon, which reaped $39 billion in worldwide sales last year, used the event, in part, to tout its innovative and technological prowess. The 125th largest company in the world, Canon ranked No. 3 in U.S. patent filings, trailing only IBM and Samsung. In fact, it has cracked the top five 10 years running in that regard.

The Arizona flatbed device is no stranger to the printing industry, having 4,300 units placed since 2007. In fact, one of the VIP customers on hand boasts a whopping 33 Arizona flatbed inkjet printers.

However, good luck getting the latest Arizona flatbed in 2014. The 6100 may be two and a half times faster than its predecessor, with an XT double bed and automated features, but it's also in short supply. Canon has just 82 units, worldwide, ready to ship for the balance of this year. Of that tally, 15 are budgeted for the United States, and at least two of those machines were rumored to have been snapped up by event attendees.

The six-color flatbeds, which include a light cyan and a light magenta, are available only on a first come, first serve basis. They carry a price tag of $449,995 and are slated to be shipped in the third quarter of this year. Océ Arizona 6100 Series printers are available directly through Canon Solutions America.

The latest version of the Arizona flatbed press has been in development for more than three years, according to Canon officials.

Among the more prominent features highlighting the Arizona 6100 series:

• The flatbed table has two independent printing zones, each with its own vacuum system, for simultaneous printing and media loading/unloading. The two zones can be combined into one to enable 8x10-ft. prints.
• With almost 27,000 piezoelectric nozzles in a seven-row printing carriage, the 6100 series produces inkjet print output at speeds up to 1,668 square feet/hr.
• An automated maintenance system that takes just 21⁄2 minutes to perform maintenance on all print heads.
• In addition to the light colors, an optional seventh white color (the 6170) is also available.

While the sneak peek was limited to a small core, the 6100 made its grand debut internationally at the FESPA Digital 2014 show in Munich, Germany on May 20. PI