Aqueous or water-based inkjet printing is the technology that the digital wide format industry initially started but is it old technology?
What solvent did was bring new buyers in and grow the market, specifically in the sign and screen industries, where the perception was that print needed to be highly robust, last for years, and had to be genuinely outdoor durable.
However, many of those solvent print buyers have since realised that for many applications, water-based inkjets actually do a better job. Lightboxes, pop-up and roll-up displays, exhibition graphics, all of these applications, and more, are still dominated by water-based printers. These buyers that were initially resistant to investing in large-format prior to solvent ink systems, have since realised that print doesn't always have to last forever, that for all but a few applications, long-term durability is not the critical factor.
When you also then consider the current drive towards green printing, and new ink developments, we are right in the middle of something of a resurgence in aqueous printing.
Worldwide, the inkjet print market across all print sizes covering domestic, office and commercial print, is dominated by three companies. Canon, Epson and HP. Between the three of them, they account for about 80 per cent of the total market share.
In the large format market, to date Canon had been more noticeable by its absence.
A good few years back HP came crashing into a large market that was then dominated by Encad, and through an aggressive policy of trade-ins and upgrades, bought up a huge chunk of the market. It's fair to say they are currently the biggest player in water-based large format printing.
Why consider a Canon?
"Fundamentally, the Canon differentiator is speed with quality. Other manufacturers offer high quality output at low speed, and high-speed output at lower quality. In our experience, Canon is the only manufacturer to merge the two offering super quality output at production speeds. With users output demands increasing, wide format printers need to meet these demands."
"Canon's large format printer range also has another major benefit - low running costs. As independently tested, Canon printers use up to 34 per cent less ink than its competitors. Users can print faster and cheaper with Canon - ideal for today's demanding market place where more and more printers are competing for the same work, and margins on sales of large-format output are getting ever tighter."
Independent Lab Testing
In a series of benchmark tests through the world renowned Buyers' Laboratory Inc (BLI) arranged by Canon, the imagePROGRAF iPF8000S and imagePROGRAF iPF8100 both scored highly against its two market leading competitors, namely the HP DesignJet Z6100 and the Epson Stylus PRO 9880.
The independent report found the imagePROGRAF iPF8000S used 34.5 per cent less ink than its competitors' product running under identical test conditions. Figures for Canon's imagePROGRAF iPF8100 were similarly good, with the Canon using 31.6 per cent less ink. In addition, the Canon iPF8000S can save an additional 8 per cent of ink usage if switched into economy running mode.
The final tests from BLI, covering colour gamut volume, showed the iPF8000S had a larger colour volume when compared to HP DesignJet Z6100 whilst the Canon iPF8100, when measured against the Epson Stylus PRO 9880, had a comparable colour gamut volume.
Not only did Canon's LFP range do well with BLI, the strength of the imagePROGRAF printers has led to a range of BERTL'S BEST Awards 2008 in a number of categories. The Canon iPF8000S / 9000S series has been awarded the BERTL'S BEST 2008 award for Best Wide Format in the Print-for-Pay and Production Market range. The five-colour dye / pigment Canon imagePROGRAF iPF710 printer was also presented with the Best Wide Format System for the Low Volume Colour Printer AEC market.
Furthermore, Canon has recently been awarded prestigious accolades for the abilities of its leading large format printers, the imagePROGRAF iPF5100 and the imagePROGRAF iPF6100. Both printers, running with an EFI Colorproof XF RIP, were awarded FOGRA certification for their print qualities, whilst the iPF5100 was also presented with the European Digital Press Association award for its proofing abilities.
With publications from 15 European countries, a combined circulation of more than 120,000 copies and a readership exceeding 250,000 graphic arts professionals, the EDP award in particular is a prestigious recognition of the ability of Canon printers to meet the most accurate of proofing standards.
Of most relevance to the display printer is the 44" wide iPF8000S and the 60" wide iPF9000S. These Sseries printers are tailored for all-out print performance, with a maximum speed, which produces saleable print, of 37.5 square metres an hour.