Six Pinnacle Awards for Canon Large Format Graphics Products and Technologies
Canon today announces that, in recognition of the quality of its large format graphics technology, it has received from PRINTING United Alliance four Pinnacle Product Awards for its Colorado 1630 UVgel roll-to-roll printer and its Arizona 1380 GT, Arizona 2380 GTF and Arizona 2380 XTF flatbed printers, and two Pinnacle InterTech Awards for its Canon UVgel 460 Ink technology and Canon Arizona FLOW technology. Each of the 160+ entries in more than 58 categories, spanning analogue, digital, output and non-output technologies, was reviewed by an independent panel of over a dozen judges made up of distinguished decision makers within the printing industry.
Four Pinnacle Product Awards 2021
Canon products have won Pinnacle Product Awards in the following categories for 2021:
- Colorado 1630 winning best Roll-to-Roll UV (under 80 in.)
- Arizona 1380 GT winning best UV/Latex Flatbed +White ($100K-200K)
- Arizona 2380 GTF winning best UV/Latex Flatbed ($200K-500K)
- Arizona 2380 XTF winning best UV/Latex Flatbed +White ($200K-500K)
Ray Weiss, director, Digital Print Programs, PRINTING United Alliance, comments, “This juried competition represents the best of the best among commercial hardware, software, consumables, and industrial and screen equipment, and judges are basing their decisions on objective criteria. Some of the categories were decided by tenths of a point—so fierce was the competition this year—and with outstanding entries like the Colorado and Arizona, the judges certainly had their work cut out for them.”
Two Pinnacle InterTech Awards 2021
The Pinnacle InterTech Awards recognize significant new technologies that improve or advance the printing industry with exceptional contributions in quality, capability, and productivity, and are predicted to have a major impact on the printing industry.
The following Canon technologies have won Pinnacle InterTech Awards for 2021:
- Canon UVgel 460 Ink, which, in the opinion of the judges “represented a significant new ink technology.”
- Canon Arizona FLOW technology, which the judges described as “Canon’s clever technology (that) saves preparation time and increases application versatility.”
On contact with the media, UVgel 460 ink’s patented auto-gelling action allows rapid ink coverage of the media for high productivity with superior colour gamut, not possible with evaporative ink technologies. The flexible nature of the ink combines the ability to produce stretchable output for vehicle graphics and soft signage with significantly higher chemical and abrasion resistance than competitive ink technologies. In addition, UVgel 460 ink’s FLXfinish™ offers print service providers the singular ability to produce matte or glossy prints on the same media interchangeably.
The new Arizona FLOW technology significantly changes the way print producers are able to use flatbed printing systems, allowing any size or shape of media to be placed anywhere on the table without regard for vacuum zones or concern about vacuum leaks, saving significant time and effort and allowing several new working methods. Producers can now print contour-cut, unusually-shaped media or multiple, smaller boards across the table without sealing the table vacuum system. An alternative approach to the highly successful Arizona high-vacuum flatbed architecture, Arizona FLOW technology greatly reduces or even eliminates the need for masking open areas of the flatbed vacuum table, enabling quicker job set-ups.
Christian Unterberger, Chief Operating Officer, Canon Production Printing, comments, “I’m delighted for and proud of the whole Canon Large Format Graphics team to have our products and technologies recognized by PRINTING United Alliance for their innovation and for the significant benefits they provide to our customers. These awards exemplify our continued commitment to developing innovative technology that helps our customers meet the ever-changing demands and challenges they face in today’s print market. We congratulate all 2021 recipients.”
About PRINTING United Alliance
PRINTING United Alliance is the most comprehensive member-based printing and graphic arts association in the United States, comprised of the vast communities which it represents. The Alliance serves industry professionals across market segments with preeminent education, training, workshops, events, research, government and legislative representation, safety, and environmental sustainability guidance, as well as resources from the leading media company in the industry – NAPCO Media. Now a division of PRINTING United Alliance, Idealliance is the global leader in standards training and certification for printing and graphic arts operations across the entire industry supply chain.
PRINTING United Alliance also produces the PRINTING United Expo, the most influential days in printing. The expansive display of technology and supplies, education, programming, and services are showcased to the industry at large, and represents all market segments in one easily accessed place.