Short-run production for a broad range of applications and variable-data printing—the printing industry is undergoing a major transformation, from offset printing to digital printing.
Canon is pursuing commercial printing solutions tailored to customer needs.

2018/12/27Activity introductions

#Technology in Products#Camera

Although such commercial printing jobs as producing publications and brochures can involve print runs ranging anywhere from tens of thousands of copies to several million copies, there is an increasing need for short-run production for a broad range of applications. Additionally, printing paper has become diversified as various types of media including glossy paper, pressure-bonded paper, carbonless paper and heavy paper are now used in the market. Because offset printing requires printing plates, while digital printing does not, digital demonstrates superiority for individual print jobs containing short run length and wide range of applications and variable-data printing, in which content can be changed from one page to the next. To meet demand in the growing digital printing market, Canon is working hard to improve quality, productivity and reliability.

Offering such products as continuous-feed printers and large-format inkjet printers enables the Canon Group, which includes Océ, to provide optimal solutions tailored to customer needs. One of the advantages enjoyed by our customers is uniform operability and user interfaces, which deliver the same experience across various products.

In 2014, Asahi Shimbun Company became the first newspaper company in Japan to introduce digital printers and is now working towards developing unique businesses. When Asahi Shimbun was looking to introduce new printers, they appreciated Canon’s collaborative problem solving system and ability to respond to technical issues and ultimately selected Océ inkjet printers. By taking full advantage of the printers’ characteristics, including variable-data printing, special folding and long-sheet printing, Asahi Shimbun is able to produce highly varied content. As an example, a project involving a special feature on a marathon tailored to individual participants—containing such information as the race conditions on the day and the course route—could have a front page with such personalized content as the individual runners’ names and running times. The future of newspaper printing has arrived.

Canon’s strengths lie in our emphasis on speed, image quality and durability and in our extensive product portfolio suitable for all situations. For our continuous-feed printing systems, which print on rolls of paper for large volume production, Canon is working to expand applications with the support of variable-data printing and printing on special paper. Additionally, our cut-sheet printers, ideal for smaller volume production, offer the flexibility to handle everything from the printing of books and manuals to such high-image-quality print jobs as photobooks. Looking to the future, Canon has set its sights on the rapidly-growing package printing sector, aiming to expand the potential of digital printing.