Duplexing Duplicators, Rise of the “Green” RICOH DX 4640PD Duplicator.

Duplexing Duplicators, Rise of the “Green” RICOH DX 4640PD Duplicator.

Death of Duplicators was an article I read many years ago. I too thought the technology was dead. However, it seems “Green” Duplicators are now the “in thing” . You may ask how the heck can a duplicator be Green? Well, they can and I’ve outlined one particular system in this blog. Others may ask what is a digital duplicator? If, so you can go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_duplicator .

Ricoh introduced a Duplexing Duplicator (RICOH DX 4640PD) a few months ago, that’s right it will print both sides of the paper (letter size) in one pass, thus saving paper and trees. In fact this “Green” Duplicator can print 240 images per minute (ipm), which almost doubles the speed of any current duplicator on the market today.

The RICOH DX 4640PD also utilizes these “Green” Features Quick Start Up Technology, Power Saving Sleep Mode and uses NO HEAT to fix the image onto the paper! In fact this system uses a “cold process” to dry the ink. Thus electric consumption is decreased which enables a cost saving to the customer. Think of this, this system is ready to make prints after only 15 seconds, about the time it take too put on original on the glass or send a print job to the system.

So, who the heck needs a “Green” Duplicator? Schools, Large Churches, Health Care Providers, Faith Based Organizations, Colleges, and Hospitals can benefit from using less paper! That’s right two bring home flyers can now be printed on the same piece of paper in a single pass. How about forms, tests, charts, NCR forms and reading material they all work too right. How about companies that need thousands of bi-lingual forms or instructions? Can you image having an old duplicator that did one million pages a year can be cut to five hundred thousand, that’s a savings of 100 boxes of paper and a heck of a few trees.

If you have an old duplicator that can print up to 11x17, and you only print letter size documents, did you know that you are wasting half of the plate material? By acquiring a new “Green” Duplicator such as the RICOH DX4640PD you could cut your plate costs in half and help save resources!

Duplicators can also print in single or dual color and print onto virtually any type of media, so if you didn’t think a duplicator was for you, think again.

-=Good Selling=-

Gestetner Digital Duplicator DX Series - The most amazing home videos are here

Océ North America Introduces Desktop Color Printing Performance

TRUMBULL, CONN. September 22, 2008 – Océ, an international leader in digital document management, introduced today the Océ cx2100, a desktop color MFP with the ability to copy, print, scan and fax. This powerhouse desktop device, available from the Océ North America Document Printing Systems division, provides users with a wide range of features and functions while taking up a small amount of space. The Océ cx2100 is an all-in-one office assistant that features rich, full-color laser output. Providing the ultimate in flexibility, the Océ cx2100 comes standard with a variety of features so that businesses can obtain maximum productivity.

"At Océ, we’re focused on meeting customer demands for a full selection of color MFP devices, and the Océ cx2100 adds the low speed color MFP they’ve been asking for," said Tom O’Neill, Director of Product Marketing, Océ North America, Document Printing Systems. "Full color printing and scanning along with an assortment of features, including standard wireless network connectivity, and the space-saving design of the Océ cx2100 make for an outstanding color laser desktop solution." The introduction of the Océ cx2100 allows users to maximize productivity and efficiency without sacrificing space.

Extraordinary versatility

Because busy users require a wide variety of document delivery methods, the Océ cx2100 provides a mixture from which to choose. The small footprint of the Océ cx2100 allows the device to be placed directly on the desktop and with a standard 250 sheet tray that is easily adjusted for letter or legal sized paper and a multipurpose tray ideal for letterhead and envelopes, users can print all the items that they need for their demanding work day. The Océ cx2100 comes standard with USB, Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless connectivity and network scanning to an assortment of destinations to include scan-to-image, email, OCR, FTP and USB ensures efficient and timely document sharing or archiving for maximum productivity.

Solid performance

To obtain the ultimate in performance and productivity, print and copy speeds remain constant in full color and black & white at 21 ppm for printing and 17 ppm for copying. For high quality color prints that users can rely on for attention grabbing excellence, laser quality printing at up to 2400 x 600 dpi resolution delivers crisp detail and vivid color. With standard auto-duplexing, a 50 sheet ADF and an 800 sheet maximum paper capacity, the Océ cx2100 is able to keep up with active business environments. Standard high speed Super G3 faxing that can be programmed with up to 40 one-touches and 300 speed dials make for easy hard copy delivery.

Advanced technology

Complete with standard PCL®6 and PostScript®3 compatibility and Windows Vista® drivers, the Océ cx2100 makes it easy for businesses to take advantage of the latest technologies that are usually reserved for higher end devices. The secure function lock allows administrators to set levels of access to certain features of the device for up to 25 users. The built in USB direct interface enables PDF and JPEG print-from or scan-to a USB flash memory device.

Environmental features

The Océ cx2100 allows businesses to maintain sustainable business processes with a series of energy and environmentally conscious features. The Océ cx2100 is approved for recycled paper use and is ENERGY STAR® certified while short warm-up times promote the use of energy saving sleep mode and standard auto-duplexing saves paper.
Availability The Océ cx2100 is now available from Océ direct sales offices. A variety of acquisition plans are available including sale, lease or rental. For more information, please visit http://www.oceusa.com/.

About Océ Océ N.V. is a leading international provider of digital document management technology and services. The company’s solutions are based on Océ’s advanced software applications that deliver documents and data over internal networks and the Internet to printing devices and archives -- locally and around the world. Supporting the workflow solutions are Océ digital printers and scanners, considered the most reliable and productive in the world. Océ also offers a wide range of display graphics, consulting and outsourcing solutions.

Océ employs around 24,000 people, with 2007 revenues of approximately $4.6 billion, operates in more than 90 countries and maintains research and manufacturing centers in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Romania and Singapore. Océ North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL; New York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake City, UT and Vancouver, BC. North American revenues represented approximately half of Océ’s worldwide business in 2007, and employment is currently 11,000. For more information about Océ, visit www.oceusa.com. Outside the U.S., consult http://www.oce.com/.

"Océ" and the Océ logo are registered trademarks, of Océ-Technologies B.V. All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their owners, and are respectfully acknowledged.

Okidata 3641 Color MFP "Print Shop in A Box"

Can't be, Naw one system can't be everything to a Print Shop right? Well, the Okidata 3641 foots the bill and it's a "Print Shop in A Box"!

I recently had this system on a demonstration with the Oki3641 at a local P4P (Print4Pay) Account in New Jersey. The customer has an older Ricoh 6513 (fiery) and a Canon 3220 (fiery). Our customer was actually using both of these units for color output the 3220 for speed and the 6513 for thick stock and high quality. Well, the oki3641 performed awesome! From thick stock (170lb index) to gloss stock and a stock I've never seen before, the stock was very thick and is stock that artist use to paint watercolors. The quality of color was awesome on all stocks.

Color was consistent from page one to five hundred, feeding different stocks was not and issue. A couple of outstanding features is that the iko will take 13x19 paper through the by-pass, plus it has a pull down exit tray that allows thick stock to come out flat and not curl (just what the doctor order).

The end is that the customer can eliminate the Ricoh and the Canon and just rely on the Oki3641 for all of his color requirements! Listed below is a few bullet points about the Oki3641.

• Has a high duty cycle, rated at 150,000 per month. Although I have it in applications that run 50,000 color prints per month with out issue.
• All toners, drums and maintenance kits can be changed by the end user. This leads to less down time.
• The color output is spectacular. Rivals anything on the market under $50K. The retail on this unit is $19,000.
• Uses micro-fine spherical toner to get high quality output.
• Can handle 12/18 out of each of the 4 draws. Up to 110lb index in the draws.
• The Multi-purpose tray can handle up to 170lb index and 12.9” x 48” paper for banners.
• Have seen some applications where a book binder is doing 5,000 sheet runs of cloth sheets thru the multipurpose tray. This does lead to premature wear of drums and fuser, however the output looks great.
• Since the 3641 is versatile, dealers usually place it in accounts that there main copier line is giving them trouble. Most of the time the 3641 is able to solve the issue and save the account.
• Some dealers are attaching a 1,000 sheet envelope feeder to the 3641 and marketing it with variable data software for envelope printing. This is an untapped market, where there is a lot of interest in print for pay.
• Comes standard with Fiery. Uses the latest OS from Fiery system 8, which allows the end user to customize properties screen in the print application.
• The Oki 3641 Fiery comes standard with Spot-on, Hot Folders, Auto trapping, Variable data printing.
• Has Send-me built in. This is Fiery’s version of e-copy. Send me is the front end of a document management system.
• You can add an OCR connector to Send-Me and it will allow you to do OCR at the machine. This saves on licensing fees. In addition it gives you search able PDF documents and a hidden text layer.
• It also copies. Although it does not have program keys, and First Copy Out Time is about 9 sec. It can be used in walk up copy environments.

-=Good Selling=-

Xerox Invents Reusable Paper that Uses UV Light for "Ink"

Now this is really cool, and makes sense. Which leads me to a few questions:

• How much would the paper cost?


• How much do the printers cost?


• How many times can I use the same sheet of paper?


• How much will I glow at night from using the paper and printer?
  

(NaturalNews) Xerox subsidiary Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has developed a type of paper that, combined with a special printer, can print documents that erase themselves after a day so that the paper can be reused.

Xerox says that 25 percent of all documents get recycled the same day they are printed, and that 44.5 percent are intended only for a single viewing. Using the new printer and paper for one-shot documents like daily menus, work summaries and office memos could vastly reduce paper and energy use, the company said.

"Think of the Google map you printed to get here," PARC Area Manager Eric Shrader said at a product demonstration. "Thirty years ago, we said the future was paperless."

"Despite our reliance on computers to share and process information, there is still a strong dependence on the printed page for reading and absorbing content," said Paul Smith, manager of Xerox's new materials design and synthesis lab.

The new paper is coated with a chemical that turns dark upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In order to create a document, the printer simply bombards the paper with UV radiation in the appropriate places.

While the "ink" will eventually fade on its own, after 16 to 24 hours, the printer can also be used to erase a page and print something new. Tests by Xerox found that if it was not torn or crumpled, a single piece of paper could be put through the print-and-erase cycle hundreds of times.

According to Shrader, it takes 204,000 joules of energy to create a new piece of paper and 114,000 to recycle one. Printing onto a normal sheet of paper uses about 2,000 joules.

It takes only 100 joules to print one page of the special erasable paper. If the printer also has to erase the prior image, printing uses about 1,000 joules of energy.

The erasable paper and ink are available in a variety of colors. Xerox expects to take the new product commercial within the next few years.

Sharp Partner Marketing Program Validates Print Audit 5 Embedded

I for one would love to the chance to add widgets with the Sharp OSA technology. The technology is awesome and others will have to follow Sharp's lead with OSA technology. I had heard at the Sharp Dealer Show that they had these systems set up as Kiosks, where people would check in and then their Dealer Badges were automatically printed!!!!

Calgary, Alberta - September 18, 2008 - Print Audit and Sharp Electronics Corporation have joined forces through the Sharp Partner Program, ensuring that Print Audit 5 Embedded is fully compatible with Sharp OSA-enabled devices. This new alliance will pair the unique features of Print Audit's print management software solution, Print Audit 5 Embedded, with Sharp OSA-enabled multifunction peripherals (MFPs), creating a seamlessly incorporated workflow.

Tightly integrated with Print Audit 5, Print Audit 5 Embedded is a comprehensive print management solution that allows organizations to analyze, reduce and recover costs related to walk-up copying, printing, scanning, and faxing. Sharp OSA technology extends MFP applications to numerous vertical business categories and helps businesses to improve productivity, reduce operational costs and target specific business needs.


"This is a key and mutually beneficial alliance that not only showcases the best features of both companies' products and services, but also illustrates our continued commitment to meeting the needs of our customers," said John MacInnes, President and CEO of Print Audit. "Sharp shares our dedication to excellence, quality, and innovation, and we look forward to working together to provide our customers with the best print management solutions available."

"Print Audit is leveraging the open, flexible development capabilities of Sharp OSA technology to create innovative document management solutions for users of Sharp OSA-compatible MFPs," said Tom Davis, Vice President Marketing Applications Development, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. "Print Audit 5 Embedded gives an organization the ability to save money and time by providing a seamless solution for managing walk up MFP use."

In addition to ensuring that Print Audit 5 Embedded is fully compatible with Sharp OSA-enabled MFPs, the alliance will also allow Sharp dealers to take advantage of other Print Audit products that are designed to help dealers sell more hardware and increase their post sales revenue. For example, dealers have the ability to perform comprehensive print assessments using Print Audit Assessor while Print Audit 5's rules-based features provide the ability to restrict printer usage and redirect high-cost jobs to more efficient devices.

The added value of these distinctive Print Audit 5 features has helped Print Audit's partnered office equipment dealers bring in $450 million in additional hardware sales.
For more information on Print Audit 5 or to download a free trial, visit

http://www.printaudit.com/

For more information on the Sharp Partner Program, visit http://www.sharp-partners.com/

About Sharp Electronics Corporation

Sharp Electronics Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer of one-of-a-kind home entertainment products, appliances, networked multifunctional office solutions, solar energy solutions and mobile communication and information tools. Leading brands include AQUOS Liquid Crystal Televisions, 1-Bit digital audio products, SharpVision projection products, Insight Microwave Drawer appliances, Plasmacluster air purifiers, and Notevision multimedia projectors. For more information visit Sharp Electronics Corporation at http://www.sharpusa.com/

About Print Audit Established in 1999 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Print Audit is the fastest growing print management company in the world. By providing businesses with innovative and practical print management software solutions, the company has helped customers recapture over $79 million in printing and photocopying expenses while saving an estimated 90,000 trees a year. Print Audit has offices located in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

For more information about Print Audit, please contact:

Angela Onstine
Public Relations Representative
Print Audit - North America
877.41.AUDIT (28348)
aonstine@printaudit.com
http://www.printaudit.com/

For locations outside North America, please contact:

Print Audit - Europe
+44(0)1483 726206
http://www.printauditeurope.com/
inquiry@printauditeurope.com

Print Audit - South Africa
+086 110 5777
http://www.printauditsa.com/
info@printauditsa.com

Print Audit - ANZ
+612 940 48500
http://www.printauditanz.com/

Print Audit - America Latina
+55(21)2220 0939
http://www.printaudit.com.br/
Informacoes em Portugues:
suporte@printaudit.com.br
Informaciones en Espanol:
espanol@printaudit.com.br

Ricoh Production Printers Gets High Marks From Users

I see a lot of stuff come across and my the life of me, did Ricoh actually provide a list of P4P accounts for IA to conduct their survey?


Ricoh Production Printers Gets High Marks From Users

Ricoh Production Products Ranked Best in Industry According to Industry Analysts Survey. Ricoh's 70 Plus PPM Monochrome Devices Receive High Marks From Print for Pay Customers.
WEST CALDWELL, NJ, September 17, 2008 -- Ricoh Americas Corporation announced today that its production family of 70 plus pages per minute (ppm) monochrome products were rated best overall by print for pay customers in a survey conducted by Industry Analysts, Inc. These products, marketed by Ricoh's Production Printing Business Group (PPBG), were recognized by Office Products Analyst, a leading industry trade magazine published by Industry Analysts, Inc., as part of its annual Print for Pay survey.

Survey Methodology

The annual Print for Pay survey is a culmination of two months of extensive interviews with nearly 250 commercial printers and publishing houses to gauge the products and solutions they use day in and day out. Ricoh had a strong showing in several areas, including Best Overall Monochrome Production - 70 Plus; Productivity, Stability of Connectivity, Image Quality, Reliability, Ease of Connectivity, Ease of Use, and Total Cost of Ownership. The products tied for first in the Features category. The Ricoh production monochrome line virtually swept the monochrome production category, beating out competitors like Canon, Xerox and Konica Minolta.

"Print for pay customers are extremely dependent on the performance and quality of the products they use and therefore are the best critics when it comes to document management devices," said Andy Slawetsky, president, Industry Analysts, Inc. "Ricoh's commitment to innovation and its customers is demonstrated by the overwhelmingly positive response to its production printing devices."

Ricoh's PPBG specializes in high-volume production devices for in-plant, graphic arts and data center customers. Products include 70+ ppm multifunction products (MFPs) and finishing equipment. While some specific products were not listed in the Print for Pay survey, the production line as a whole demonstrated superior functionality and usability for commercial and publishing customers.

"Ricoh takes pride in creating innovative products that provide the latest technological solutions for commercial printing businesses that depend on productivity, quality and low total cost of ownership," said Carl Joachim, vice president of Marketing, Production Printing Business Group of Ricoh Americas Corporation. "Being recognized by Industry Analysts, Inc. only further validates the quality products customers have come to expect from Ricoh."

Industry Analysts, Inc. (IA, Inc.) is a market research and product testing firm specializing in the imaging industry. Founded in 1974, IA, Inc. provides "real-world" third party testing and evaluations, market research and focus groups, from offices in Rochester, New York and Fairfield, New Jersey.

The Office Products Analyst is one of the longest running imaging-industry publications. Published by market research and consulting firm, Industry Analysts, Inc. (Rochester, NY), the OPA conducts thousands of end-user and office equipment dealer surveys each year.
The Production Printing Business Group (PPBG)of Ricoh Americas Corporation is dedicated to delivering state-of-the-art, high-speed production systems that provide efficient document workflows with high-volume production printing and finishing. Incorporating superior engineering, reliable technology, and extensive software and finishing options, PPBG helps production centers cost-effectively modernize and streamline their operations to meet today’s rapid turnaround and high-quality demands.

Ricoh Americas Corporation, headquartered in West Caldwell, N.J., is a subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd., the 72-year-old leading supplier of office automation equipment and electronics, with fiscal year 2007 sales in excess of $19.4 billion, a 7.3 percent increase over the previous year. The company is a leading provider of document solutions. Ricoh’s fully integrated hardware and software products help businesses share information efficiently and effectively by enabling customers to control the input, management and output of documents.

MFP Wars "Rise of the A4's"

Not since Minolta incorporated the first zoom lens in a copier will there be a more sweeping change in the MFP landscape! I've been on this kick for over two years, when HP launched the first A4 MFP!

Whats Hot!!! A4 MFP devices, what is an A4 MFP? A4 actually represents the paper size that can be reproduced on the system. A4 devices will print, copy, fax and scan letter & legal size. A3 devices will print, copy, fax and scan letter, legal and ledger size.

Gartner predicts that A4 print centric devices will emerge as the preferred device for distributed print needs in a report dated December of 2007. Heck, I could have told then that back in 2006. Make no bones about it A4's are here to stay and A3's will be a niche market for some manufacturers, what I really can't figure out is why companies like Ricoh, Xerox, Canon, KonicaMinolta and a few others have ignored this tremendous opportunity to garner clicks?

So, who has A4 devices (35ppm and above) on the market now? As of right now there are only a handful. HP and Samsung have thier own devices, while Muratec, Xerox and Nashua have relabeled the Samsungs. Samsung recently introduced a 55ppm and a 40ppm color A4 MFP. Word on the street is that Muratec will be picking up both of these boxes.

In May of 2007, Sharp announced that they will bring to market an entire line of A4 devices code named Frontier. Kudos, they will be the first manufacturer to have a complete line. In talking to a friend at SBS, I was told that these devices are ready to go and just waiting for the initial launch.

So, whats not to like about A4, well its certainly not the price. An A4 45 ppm system that will copy, print, scan and fax can be purchased for under $5,000. Compare that to a traditional A4 device will run you twice that!

Some have asked where the sweet spot is for A4 vs A3 devices. As of right now, A3 devices have a much lower cost per page. The sweet spot depends on where your monthly volume falls, as of right now 10,000 or less a month will save you money over the traditional A3 (even with the lower cost per page).

Speaking about lower per page costs, I've said it before and will say it again. The first manufacturer that comes to market with and A4 with the cost per page of an A3 device will dominate the market. Savvy reps will instantly sell the TCO advantages, with that the HP and Samsung devices will be short lived. Typically, an A4 device will have a mono cost per page around .015 compared to current A3 devices that average .009. It's not uncommon to see A3's at even lower cost depending on the monthly volume. The higher the volume the lower the cost per page.

Here's an except from a brochure for a popular A4. "When compared to the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of a general A3 multifunctional TCO, at an average of 10,000 pages per month, can result in one of the lowest running costs in its class.

Infotrends reports, “We believe that the role of workgroup A4 MFPs will grow strongly, pulling A4/letter size pages away from A3 copiers and MFPs, thereby weakening the demand for these larger devices,” commented Bob Leahey, an Associate Director at InfoTrends. “A3 devices will remain vital in the U.S., but the push by major suppliers of workgroup A4 alternatives is having an effect on decision-making regarding office equipment purchases at U.S. companies. Because of this impact and other factors, A3-format technology will represent a declining share of the installed base of U.S. office equipment over the next several years.”

All hail the rise of the A4!

Keiger Printing Inks First Order for Xerox iGen4 in North America

Here's one from the very highend, as of right now there is no growth in the middle. Just the very low and the very high end. Congrats on your purchase!!!

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The new Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) iGen4™ Press is headed for Keiger Printing Company in Winston-Salem, N.C., marking the first installation in North America. The breakthrough digital press - announced in Germany at drupa 2008 in May - is now available for delivery to print providers worldwide.

"We want to be the first in the country to offer our customers the best solution to their business needs" said Louis Crockett, president of Keiger Printing. "Every high-quality color print that comes off of the iGen4 will help set us apart from our competition. This purchase will change our business"

Keiger Printing, historically an early adopter of new technology, installed a Xerox iGen3™ 110 Digital Production Press three years ago. "The iGen3 press helped propel our company. The iGen4 takes everything to the next level and redefines the standards of digital printing" said Crockett.

According to Crockett, color consistency and predictability are critical to his customers and that with the Xerox iGen4, repeat jobs will always look the same. The iGen4 creates offset and photo-quality images with consistent color from the first print to the last. There are more than 400 new parts and subsystems as well as new patented technologies that help the iGen4 generate its high-definition image quality.

Crockett said he expects productivity to increase 25 to 35 percent with the iGen4 through the automation of operator tasks, such as not needing to stop the machine to replace developer with the new Carrier Dispensing System. "Time is money, but it is only revenue if you are producing" added Crockett.

By automating operator tasks on the iGen4, the need to stop the press for adjustments is greatly reduced. As a result, overall operating costs decrease and the break-even point improves between digital and traditional offset printing. "With the iGen4, it is faster and more economical to print jobs digitally" said Crockett.

He also praised a feature, Auto Density Control, which automatically detects and adjusts for density variations while the press is in use, virtually eliminating streaks. Keiger Printing will use the CX Color Server powered by Creo with its iGen4.

Running at 110 pages per minute, the iGen4 is ideal for producing high-end collateral, direct marketing and photo specialty products - jobs that typically generate the most profits for print providers.

The iGen4 is the latest addition to Xerox’s industry-leading production digital portfolio, following the revolutionary Xerox iGen3, which led the industry into a new age of digital color printing.

Xerox is also now shipping the Automated Color Quality Suite Press Matching System, for new and existing customers of the Xerox iGen3 presses, offering high performance plus quality that matches offset printing. These enhancements enable faster press set-up, quicker time to production, greater color stability and automated Pantone color matching, perfect for producing applications from personalized direct mail and catalogs to marketing collaterals and photo books.

Keiger Printing, a family-owned business for 65 years, has long been at the forefront of technology and creativity in the printing industry. The company entered digital printing in 1993 with a Xerox DocuTech™ and in 2007 won the coveted Best of Show prize at the annual Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging (PIXI) awards. The company, a Xerox Premier Partner, prints all types of applications from business cards to high-quality books for university art departments.

The iGen4 will make its U.S. debut to the public at Graph Expo 2008, the nation’s largest annual printing show, Oct. 26-29 in Chicago. The press will be on display in Xerox’s booth, No. 1219. The iGen4 has a U.S. list price of $640,000.

imageCLASS MF8450C MFP

Just like I've been saying the growth of MFP's are in the very low end and the very high end! Thus another system under $1,000 that will probably have a high per page cost.


LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Helping replace the cost and complexities of managing multiple office devices, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in document imaging and office solutions, today introduced the imageCLASS MF8450c laser multifunction printer, bringing duplex versatility with two-sided copying, printing, faxing and scanning in one machine to smaller offices.

The new imageCLASS MF8450c, which will be available through retailers nationwide, offers black-and-white and color laser printing at the same speed of up to 17 pages-per-minute (ppm) and copying output at 17 copies-per-minute (cpm)i. Users can capture finer details when they print or copy in black-and-white or color with remarkable tone-on-tone clarity where their image is true to the original. Canon’s Pure Black Technology ensures the richest blacks by utilizing only the black toner in comparison with the traditional methods of combining toners. Scans can also be achieved in color from either the platen glass or the Canon Duplex Automatic Document Feeder (DADF) with optical resolution of up to 600 dots-per-inch (dpi). The imageCLASS 8450c incorporates a 33.6 Kbps Super G3 faxii, with a strong list of fax features, including 200 speed-dial locations, up to 1,000-page memory capacity and one hour of memory back-up.

"Canon continues to bring big office innovation and technology into our line of small and home office MFPs, incorporating the functionality of four or more devices into a single tabletop unit,” said Jim Rosetta, vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A. "The imageCLASS MF8450c incorporates many advanced technologies found in other Canon high-end commercial copiers, and delivers it affordably."

The Canon imageCLASS MF8450c’s DADF can handle up to 50-page originals to allow two-sided copying, printing, scanning and faxing. The imageCLASS 8450c is equipped with a 250-sheet front-loading paper cassette, plus a 100-sheet multipurpose tray that accepts a variety of media. An optional 500-sheet cassette pedestal is available. The imageCLASS 8450c can copy up to 8.5 inches x 14 inches (legal) from both the DADF and platen glass.

For added flexibility and user convenience, the imageCLASS MF8450c helps to increase productivity with a built-in Ethernet port for networking, and a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interfaceiii, providing optimal speed when printing, scanningiv and faxing directly from a PC.

The imageCLASS MF8450c incorporates the Canon Single Cartridge System, which combines the toner, drum and development unit in one easy-to-replace cartridge, resulting in excellent image quality retention and eliminating the complication and warehousing of separate toner and drum consumables.

A further measure of Canon's commitment to small and home office customers is the inclusion of a one-year limited warranty with one year of on-site service.

The imageCLASS MF8450c laser multifunction printer meets the ENERGY STAR® guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE). Canon is a long-time ENERGY STAR partner, and is a strong advocate of consumer education of energy-efficient products through its product labeling and environmental programs. ENERGY STAR is the joint effort of the EPA and DOE designed to identify and promote energy efficient products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The imageCLASS MF8450c is scheduled to begin shipping to retailers in November 2008, with an estimated street price of $999.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranked third overall in the U.S. in 2007†, with global revenues of $39.3 billion, is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and is on the 2007 BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/pressroom.

†IFI Patent Intelligence Press Release, January 2008
Specifications, availability and prices are subject to change without notice. Actual prices are set by individual dealers and may vary.
All referenced brands and products names are the trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.
i All ppm and cpm’s based on Letter-sized output unless otherwise noted.
ii Approximate 3-second-per-page fax transmission time based on ITU-T No. 1 Chart (MMR, Standard Mode) at 33.6 Kbps modem speed when transmitting to another V.34 machine. The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) currently supports 28.8 Kbps modem speeds or lower, depending on telephone line conditions.
iii USB 2.0 Hi-Speed performance requires Windows Vista®, Server 2003, XP, 2000, Mac® OS x (print only), with pre-installed USB 2.0 port.
iv Scanning function is available via network or send features, but not available via the device’s USB interface.

CANON U.S.A. DELIVERS FOUR NEW HIGH-SPEED COLOR PRODUCTION LARGE FORMAT PRINTER MODELS

For the life of me, I can't figure out why Canon is not in the laser wide format business, it would be a no brainer for them. What are they thinking????


Lake Success, September 10, 2008 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of office imaging systems, inkjet technology and digital photography equipment, today introduced four new high-speed color production imagePROGRAF large format printer systems – the iPF810, iPF820, iPF810 PRO and the iPF820 PRO – designed for the Geographical Information System (GIS); Computer-Aided Design (CAD); Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC); Reprographics; and other Technical Document markets.

The new models address mid- to high-volume color technical document production needs of medium to large-sized corporations and reprographic establishments. All models are capable of printing two full-density D/A1-sized (23.4 inches × 33.1 inches) color plots in less than a minute, and finishes E/A0-sized (33.1 inches × 46.8 inches) plot in just 45 seconds including cutting time, and are capable of producing 117 D/A1-sized plots per hour2. The new printers can be paired with an optional inline 44-inch 300-sheet capacity plain paper stacker to neatly stack collated sets for unattended printing and easier distribution. The iPF810/iPF810 PRO have a single input roll configuration, supporting up to a 500-foot 20-lb. bond roll, whereas the iPF820/iPF820 PRO comes with an automatically switching dual roll feeder supporting up to two 500 foot rolls. The iPF820/iPF820 PRO can simultaneously accommodate two media rolls of different size and type.

Allowing maximum productivity with limited user intervention, all models can be equipped with 330ml or economical 700ml hot swappable ink cartridges (pigment-based Matte Black, and dye-based Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black), 80GB hard disk with secure erase (DOD compliant) and up to 29 password protected user-inboxes. In addition, all models also come with a high-capacity portable output media basket, self-driven dual rotary blade cutter for accurate and reliable media cutting, USB 2.0 High Speed interface, and 10/100 Base-T/TX connectivity.
All models deliver superb image quality even at the highest speed mode, offering true 1200 dpi high-resolution printing with 0.02 mm minimum line width3, precise ±0.1% line accuracy4, and a large printing area with only 3 mm (0.12”) of margins all around with roll feed paper. With select paper types (coated and glossy/semi-glossy paper types) four-sided borderless printing is possible up to 42 inches.

The completely redesigned HDI driver for the new models outputs AutoCAD data in a vector format resulting in quicker spooling times. The new in-printer processing feature offers auto-rotation to minimize paper waste, multiple job nesting, color emulation modes to match internal color palettes of current and legacy inkjet plotters from other manufacturers, as well as allows the hard disk to be used as virtual memory to prevent memory overflow commonly seen in other RAM-based standalone inkjet plotters.

“These new imagePROGRAF models will give the high volume technical document user the opportunity to print quality and precise large sized prints easily and efficiently,” said Jim Rosetta, vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A.
The iPF810 PRO and iPF820 PRO models come bundled with CADSTATION PS+, an Adobe® PostScript® workflow software solution developed by RATIO, that is essential for those in the technical documents and color reprographic production market. The software is a server-based application supporting printing of not only PostScript and PDF files, but also popular technical drawing formats such as JPEG, TIFF, TIFF Multipage, HPGL, HPGL-2, HP/RTL, and DWF, just to name a few.

Since printing sets of drawings is an important element to creating an efficient workflow, CADSTATION PS+ makes this process seamless by providing batch printing and nesting capabilities, options for Web-based job submission, as well as job and print queue management abilities. The software also has the capability to track usage information for cost and account management so business owners are able to specifically target where costs are being incurred. The added features and functionality enabled by the addition of CADSTATION PS+ makes a truly effective solution for end users looking to streamline their workflow.
All models come with a full set of five 330ml ink cartridges (one cartridge each for Matte Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black), Windows and Macintosh printer driver, a stand, and a portable media basket.
The new Canon imagePROGRAF models are scheduled to be available in October 2008, and will have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $5,795 for the iPF810, $7,795 for the iPF810 PRO, $7,495 for the iPF820, $9,495 for the iPF820 PRO, and $2,295 for optional inline 44-inch 300-sheet plain paper stacker.

About RATIO
RATIO is a developer of wide format plotting software and solutions. Recognized world wide for their expertise and experience, there are over 50,000 AEC industry users of RATIO’s products in addition to OEM partnerships with most wide format industry leaders. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, RATIO’s subsidiary company; RATIO America, Inc. provides sales and technical support services for the America’s to both OEM partners and authorized resellers of RATIO’s solutions. By distributing its products through an authorized and trained reseller channel, RATIO is re-defining how Architects, Engineers, Reprographic Service Firms and other users integrate and track the use of their wide format printing equipment for improved workflow, efficiency and cost recovery. For more information about RATIO’s products, solutions and technical services, please email us-support@ratio.de, visit http://www.ratio.us or call RATIO America at 262-884-6898

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranked third overall in the U.S. in 2007†, with global revenues of $39.3 billion, is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and is on the 2007 BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/pressroom.