Features Printing Wide-format Inkjet
Canon Unveils Colorado, First UVgel Tech

Canon Canada Inc. introduced its new UVgel technology platform aimed at providing new levels of speed, quality, automation and cost of operation for large-format print providers. The first UVgel-enabled Canon system is the 64-inch Océ Colorado 1640, a roll-to-roll inkjet printer for producing both indoor and outdoor graphics. This product will have its first public debut in North America at the ISA International Sign Expo, running from April 19 to 22, 2017, in Las Vegas, which is when the first units will be commercially available.

“We are very excited about this revolutionary new game-changing technology” said Patrick D’Souza, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Professional Printing Solutions Group, Canon Canada. “This new technology will help large-format-print providers to increase their print production while lowering their operating costs, enabling them to profitably grow their business.”

At the heart of the Océ Colorado 1640 is Canon’s recently unveiled UVgel technology. Canon explains UVgel combines a radically new UV curable ink from Canon that instantly gels on contact with the media, advanced self-aware piezoelectric printhead technology, an LED-based UV system that cures without adding any damaging heat to the media, and continuous printhead nozzle monitoring and performance compensation. Canon explains these unique technologies combine to create a 64-inch roll-to-roll printer with high standards for quality, productivity, automation, application range and operating costs.

Canon also describes the Océ Colorado 1640 as the fastest 64-inch printer on the market, with a top speed of 1,710 square feet per hour and another setting to produce high-quality, point-of-purchase prints at 430 square feet per hour.

As UVgel ink instantly gels on contact with media, Canon explains this results in precise dot gain and positional control, perfectly repeatable images, and instantly cured, durable prints. The system’s low temperature LED-UV curing technology moves independently from the printing carriage to help establish uniform post-print UV curing that contributes to print speed and quality.

The Océ Colorado 1640 features a heavy-duty drawer mechanism that holds up to two rolls of media at one time, each weighing up to 110 lbs. The two rolls can be of the same media type and size or different media, and once initialized, the print engine can switch jobs between rolls without operator assistance for an ability to run unattended printing.

If an unknown media is loaded, Canon explains the printer will automatically measure its thickness and adjust the print gap accordingly. This helps with print quality and also reduces the risk of printhead crashes. This information is then stored in the media library along with other media parameters so that the next time this type of media is loaded, the printer knows how to handle it.

The UVgel printheads incorporate patented continuous nozzle monitoring to detect and correct any underperforming nozzles. During each and every printing pass, Canon’s patented nozzle monitoring technology automatically checks all nozzles using acoustic sampling and even detects whether nozzles are going to misfire before they actually do. In the event of nozzle failure, corrective maintenance is automatically performed.

Canon explains the Océ Colorado 1640, suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications, provides a large colour gamut similar to solvent inks but combines this with the environmental benefits and safety profile of latex and UV-cured systems. The result, according to Canon, is nearly odorless, VOC-free, durable, colourfast, high quality prints even on thin, heat-sensitive media. Canon’s UVgel technology features ultra-thin ink dispersion with, explains the company, almost no discernible physical profile on the media surface.

Canon continues to explain that the Océ Colorado 1640’s UVgel technology features ink consumption that is as much as 40 percent lower than competitive technologies. “Canon Canada is looking forward to the North American debut of this product at the ISA Show in April,” said D’Souza. “We know that there has been a lot of anticipation around this technology and we are very excited about what the future will bring.”