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April & May 2020 Printweek
SPECIFICATIONS
Process Drop-on-demand sheetfed piezo
inkjet
Inks Water-based pigment
Paper sizes From 203x203mm to 488x320mm.
With optional guide: 178x254mm. With PIM-XL:
353x500mm
Stock weight range 60–300gsm
Speed Up to 300 A4 images/minute, or 106
duplex A3 images
Front end Prismasync Controller
Price About £750,000 depending on
configuration
Contact Canon UK 0870 600500
www.canon.co.uk
have to be careful that this is taken into
account when estimating. The capital cost of
the equipment is higher, but the cost per page
is lower on average. What really stands out
though is the sheer efficiency of these
machines – with very little downtime and
constant output, they are real workhorses.”
In April this year, Canon announced two
new sheetfed inkjet presses, originally due for
launch at Drupa: the iX-3200, with an
increased speed of 320 A4 ppm; and iX-2100,
for 210 A4 ppm. Both use new 1,200dpi print
heads (double that of the i300) and new pigment
inks that are said to give image quality
that exceeds dry or liquid toners (the latter
being HP Indigo). Canon says that the original
i-series will still be sold alongside the iX-series.
How has it been in practise?
“We are very pleased with the i300s,” says
Hughes. “They have surpassed our high expectations
and allowed us to consolidate most of
our digital printing from both colour and
mono devices and from litho, which was being
outsourced before. Key is the ability to produce
litho quality personalised documents at speed.”
Installation went smoothly, he says. “Canon
was very efficient with the installation and
on-boarding of the new machine, which took
around three weeks to install and commission.
We really were pleased with the whole process
as well as ongoing maintenance. The engineers
are great and resolve issues quickly.”
There haven’t been any real problems , he
says. “As with any new device, there are always
one or two glitches. Canon was able to speedily
resolve them within hours. Overall, the service
and maintenance has been impressive.
Latcham operators love the machine as it has
great uptime and is very efficient compared
with the previous iGen colour toner printers.”
Any niggles? “The paper weight of the i300
is limited to 300gsm and B3, so we have to produce
some heavier weighted products or
HUGHES
“The i300 hits the sweet spot for us”
extended sheet sizes on the C850/910s, at a
premium,” says Hughes. “The only other issue
is maybe its size: it is big compared with other
cut-sheet devices, but similar in size to a B2
four-colour litho press.
“On the plus side, inkjet printing and the
i300 is much better for the environment than
toner, with lower energy consumption per
page, removal of microplastics (toner) and
more recyclable inks. We hope to be supplying
most of the power with solar in the future as
well.”
Latcham’s second i300 answers the “would
you buy it again” question, but would Hughes
recommend that others do the same? “We
would definitely recommend this machine
and we are happy with our purchase. The next
generation of Canons promise to have higher
resolution and can handle increased paper
weights, but are more expensive. The i300 hits
the sweet spot for us.”
/www.canon.co.uk