02.27.2023
Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced the ProStream 3000 series, the next generation of its high-speed, web-fed inkjet presses for commercial print. Built on the established ProStream technology platform, the new ProStream 3000 series delivers consistent offset print quality at industrial speed on a wide selection of substrates including heavyweight paper, enabling ultra-fast digital production of a broader range of commercial print jobs.
The extended media capability makes it even easier for print businesses – including general commercial and online printers, direct mail printers, book producers and photo specialty printers – to migrate high-volume, high-value work from offset to digital inkjet and print media like 7 pt. at full machine speed as required. With the ProStream, customers can recognize the full end-to-end productivity benefits of inkjet production across most applications, from direct mail and books, to postcards, posters and calendars.
The ProStream 3000 produces high quality on web widths of up to 22 inches and page lengths up to 60 inches, and up to 436ft per minute, based on the media being used. For those occasions when volumes spike under tight deadlines, the new ProStream series can produce up to 11,300 4/4 B2 sheets per hour, equating to 62 million US letter, on a wide range of substrates and weights, including standard offset coated, uncoated and inkjet-optimized papers up to 300gsm.
To deliver offset quality at extreme speed across a wider range of substrates, the ProStream 3000 incorporates an enhanced drying system. This uses air floatation throughout the paper path – including the advance air impingement turn bar – to help protect the surface quality of the printed output at all stages. The system’s asymmetric design dries all jobs evenly and controlled without coming into contact with the paper, delivering exceptional quality even on the most scratch-sensitive media.
Consistent, high quality with accurate, vibrant color is delivered by native 1200dpi piezo drop-on-demand print heads in combination with proven polymer pigment inks and Smart ColorGrip. With Smart ColorGrip, also now available as an option for the ProStream 1000 series, the amount of ColorGrip solution can be customized to the white area of the page, providing adjustment flexibility for heavy or light ink coverage and delivering optimal printed results. Canon’s Inline Quality Control, a high-performance camera system, also provides automatic print quality assurance, so operators can spend less time on quality control.
Thanks to the increased efficiency of both its drying system and cooling unit, the new ProStream’s energy consumption is lower than the 1000 series for most applications, making the ProStream 3000 series a feasible choice for smaller print businesses via reduced electrical infrastructure. The drying and cooling units and the power supply have also been relocated in the new product’s architecture, improving accessibility for ease and speed of servicing.
“At Canon, we share our customers’ passion for print, and we’re driven to create technology solutions that accelerate their progress towards their business goals,” said Shinichi “Sam” Yoshida, executive vice president and general manager of Canon U.S.A., Inc. “Customers worldwide have already embraced ProStream’s exceptional productivity, for everything from high-margin books to premium direct mailing jobs, while benefiting from minimal waste and very high uptime.”
Yoshida continues, “With the announcement of the new ProStream 3000 series, we’re building on this success to power our customers faster and further, delivering the speed, efficiency and media versatility they need to energize their growth. The scope to print virtually any job at great ProStream speed means that customers can now confidently migrate even more offset work to digital on-demand, reducing turnaround, slashing make-ready time and waste, making today’s shrinking run lengths more profitable and helping to meet brand owners’ demands for shorter time to market.”
Availability
The ProStream 3000 series will debut globally at Hunkeler Innovation Days (February 27 – March 2, 2023, Lucerne, Switzerland), where it is being exhibited in live production workflows of a broad range of commercial print applications. The ProStream 3000 Series will be launched and available for the U.S. market Summer of 2023.
