Inkjet & Digital Printing

Canon Solutions America unveils Media Lab and Inkjet Media Catalog

Friday 14. February 2014 - Global collaboration drives enhanced service offering and expanded product portfolio

Canon Solutions America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., today announced major advances in the company’s media and ink capabilities, including the opening of a new media lab in Boca Raton, Florida; the availability of a new product for the educational book market; and a comprehensive inkjet media catalog.
Media Lab Propels Performance and Time to Market
On March 1st, Canon Solutions America will open a new media lab in Boca Raton, Florida. Designed for live testing across inkjet and toner-based products, the lab is the first of its kind in North America and complements the company’s existing labs in Poing, Germany and Venlo, Netherlands.
The lab provides Canons Solutions America the capacity to work with more mills to test more sheets with more inks, much more quickly. Product teams can now simultaneously test several different types of ink and media, optimizing product performance and helping media partners bring products to market faster.
The addition of the Boca Raton media lab creates global synergy for testing a myriad of media products, according to John Crumbaugh, Media and Ink Marketing Executive, Production Print Solutions division of Canon Solutions America. “Our new Media Lab enables us to create a robust database on product performance, specifications, applications, and more – a tool we can reference across the organization to offer expert and immediate support to our customers.”
“When a customer calls, we want to be able to quickly and effectively assess their needs and objectives and provide them a solution,” said Kris Albee, Marketing Director, Production Print Solutions division of Canon Solutions America. “Our collaboration with the mills in developing, testing and optimizing new products and formulations gives us the first-hand insight to do just that.”
New Paper Fills Educational Book Niche
Canon Solutions America’s international paper program has generated tremendous success in recent years, expanding its portfolio to include nearly 1,000 qualified media. The newest addition is a 45 lb. coated sheet for the educational book publishing market. A Crown Van Gelder (CVG) product called LetsGo Silk was formerly only available in Europe. Through its media lab in Poing, Germany, Canon Solutions America worked closely with CVG to optimize their product for Océ inkjet platforms equipment. The sheet is now available to North American customers through Gould Paper Corporation.
“This product’s arrival is a testament to the strong relationships we have with the mills,” said Albee. “It’s a high-performing sheet, and we’re really excited about its application. Canon Solutions America always had a strong presence in book printing, but this fills a need for the educational book segment specifically. Now, there’s virtually nothing in the book market that our customers can’t print, and print at high quality.”
Media Catalog for Inkjet First of its Kind
Canon Solutions America recently invited its media partners to participate in an industry-first effort to develop a global, vendor-neutral inkjet media catalog. Each participating mill submitted media that best represent their capability with inkjet platforms, and each were given a section of the catalog in which to promote its company’s offering. The result is a best-in-class tool that allows the user to examine all of the paper products qualified for Océ inkjet platforms.
“Canon Solutions America wanted to do something truly unique in developing this catalog” said Albee. “Both our partners and our customers have been asking for a tool like this, but no one’s been able to bring the parties together before.”
The new catalog will be available to both customers and mills in February. To allow for one-to-one comparison, each printed sample uses the same artwork – a collage of images that demonstrates print quality across shadow, facial tones, logo color, text, reverse print and more – which highlight the performance and unique value proposition of each sheet.
“We are confident this catalog is will be very well received in the marketplace,” said Crumbaugh. “Our customers wanted to compare all the North American, European, and Asian products in one place. Every sheet included in the catalog is widely available in North America and has been optimized for our customers through our collaboration with the mills.”
The catalog demonstrates Canon Solutions America’s commitment to not just growing its approved media portfolio but to ensuring each product is backed by a strong relationship with its manufacturer. “The strong relationships we’ve built with our paper partners create new opportunities to drive success for our customers,” said Albee. “This catalog not only demonstrates the extensive choice our customers have in media, it also serves as a sales tool for our customers and our paper partners. It’s a win-win for everyone.”