Canon Enters The Photo Printing Market

Canon Europe has introduced a new printer that will mark the launch of the company in the Production photo printing market

PRESS RELEASE

Canon Europe, world-leader in imaging solutions today announces the company’s European entry into the production photo printing market, with the launch of the DreamLabo 5000 production inkjet printer. In line with the company’s stated growth strategy of expanding business operations through diversification, the DreamLabo 5000 marks Canon’s first entry in the production photo printing market.

New DreamLabo 5000 marks Canon’s entry into production photo printing, a new area of business for Canon

High quality prints and productivity of the production printer make it ideal for production photo printing and premium small batch print-on-demand

DreamLabo 5000 offers a viable alternative to silver halide technology and sets a new Canon quality standard

Delivering a new standard of combined photo and text quality together with high productivity, the device offers the production photo printing market a viable alternative to silver halide technology that will revitalise the photo printing market.

In addition, through opportunities possible from premium quality, it offers both the production photo and the small batch premium print-on-demand (POD) markets substantial new revenue opportunities.

Canon’s entry into the production photo printing market completes its strategy to become the leader of digital photography.  With the company’s 70 year photo heritage and 30 year printing heritage, Canon is the only company that covers the full photo imaging spectrum from input to output and the print spectrum from small volume printing at home to industrial production printing.

Ryoichi Bamba, President and CEO, Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa, comments: “This launch signifies a new business direction for Canon as we are proud to announce not just a new machine, but the technology that can revitalise the entire industry and open up substantial new business opportunities.  With the DreamLabo 5000, Canon is setting a new standard for the production printing of high quality photos and high definition text.”

Leveraging and extending Canon’s existing inkjet technology, which it has successfully deployed through its PIXMA desktop printers and imagePROGRAF wide format range, the DreamLabo 5000 features a newly developed high-density print head, enabling 305 mm wide printing output.  Incorporating Canon’s FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology, the print head enables the printing of high-quality photos and detailed text to support a variety of high-value-added output, from premium photo albums, photo books, photo calendars, photo collages and other merchandise to high-quality POD items, such as bespoke brochures.

The wide print head delivers high-speed One-Pass Printing, requiring only a single pass of the printing paper while the print head remains in a fixed position. When used in combination with the automatic Double-sided Printing function, the DreamLabo 5000 is capable of printing the contents of a 20-page A4-size photo album in just 72 seconds* and the printing of 40 photo prints (102 x 152mm) in one minute.  The system also realises high productivity by enabling paper and ink tank replacement during printing, supporting the extended operation times required for production printers.

DreamLabo 5000 uses a seven-colour dye-based ink system that delivers smooth gradation.  Employing image processing technology that makes use of the full range of Canon’s unique inkjet printing colour gamut, the new printer enables the output of photo images with a level of colour representation superior to that of conventional silver halide photographs.

The DreamLabo 5000 will be available from Canon across Europe from early 2012.

*This product is intended for print-use only. For photo album and POD production, a book binding process requiring other equipment would be necessary