Canon has launched the Océ ProStream, its next generation continuous feed colour inkjet press at Hunkeler Innovationdays, where it was demonstrated producing direct mail items, calendars, photo books and brochures.
The ProStream combines the best features of Canon’s existing high-performance inkjet technologies with new innovations to take high-speed inkjet to the next level of colour output quality and media versatility.
This creates valuable new opportunities for many print service providers (PSPs) by enhancing their capability to deliver high-value variable content applications such as premium direct mail and marketing collateral, personalised catalogues, brochures and books.
Océ’s Christian Unterberger explains: “The ProStream is a natural addition to Canon’s established portfolio of continuous feed inkjet solutions, meeting the needs of progressive customers who are looking for higher quality and improved media choice for sustained high-volume production.
“With this new press, customers can now confidently migrate high-value work from offset to inkjet. This will enable PSPs and brand owners to exploit the full creative potential of variable data printing to elevate print’s effectiveness within data-led multi-channel campaigns.”
With a printing width of 540 mm and maximum print speed of 80 metres per minute, the ProStream offers best-in-class productivity of up to 35 million A4 pages per month.
Excellent output quality is achieved by means of a new high-definition 1200 dpi Océ DigiDot print head, which produces sharp images with fine details, smooth greyscales, as well as large areas of solid ink coverage.
A new pigmented polymer ink set matches or exceeds offset colour gamut for high quality applications. The press also features new, non-contact flotation drying technology. This minimises physical stresses on the paper and leaves the printed image untouched until dry, enabling dense ink coverage for vibrant colour reproduction.
The ProStream incorporates Canon’s ColorGrip paper conditioning technology, ensuring optimal print quality on standard coated and uncoated offset papers from 60 to 160 gsm.
Peter Wolff of Canon Europe notes: “We talk to many customers who are looking for a continuous inkjet press that combines the vibrant colours associated with offset with variable data capability on standard coated papers, allowing for cost efficient white paper solutions with fast time-to-market. With the ProStream, we can now give them that solution.”