Industry researcher Keypoint Intelligence has released its Field Test Report on the Canon Colorado 1650 64-inch roll-to-roll printer, saying it "sets the bar high in this highly competitive and growing market.”
Keypoint Intelligence tested the Colorado 1650 in three categories – image quality, usability and speed.
“Based on tests conducted by Keypoint Intelligence’s production print expert technicians, the report proved the Colorado 1650 to be a true workhorse, demonstrating high speeds in all test scenarios and was found to be three times faster than the competitive average across each quality mode tested,” said a Canon press release.
“In addition to its speed, the printer’s automatic maintenance, user replaceable components and on-the-fly ink replacement features were all recognised as contributing factors for its increased uptime and faster turnarounds.
“The technicians highlighted how easy it is, with Canon’s FLXfinish curing technology, to produce both gloss and matte finishes without the need to change inks or media," Canon said. "Most importantly, in switching output finish, there was no impact on image quality, even at the most productive speeds. The FLXfinish also enhances the printer’s handling of porous materials such as soft signage and uncoated media because its UVgel technology ensures that each ink droplet is immediately fixed on the media, allowing for highly controlled dot gain and more precise image quality.”
In the report, colour images were cited as being “routinely vibrant, while delivering exceptional neutrality in black and white half-tones.” In addition, “the Colorado 1650 delivered superb PANTONE colour accuracy, generating Delta E00 measurements no greater than 2.32 on average across 15 corporate colours."
The report also noted that given its dimensional stability, modular design and matte finishing capabilities, the printer is well positioned for the growing digital wallpaper marketplace.
“The printer was found to be easy to configure and its double-sided printing and print-side-in substrate support functionalities enable improved media handling and facilitate longer, unattended print runs. The report talked of the Colorado 1650’s user-friendly interface and how it enables print service providers to reduce downtime thanks to its transparent ‘at a glance’ status monitoring, a simple to navigate 10.5-inch smart control panel and a remote control app.”
David Sweetnam, director of EMEA/Asia Research and Lab Services at Keypoint Intelligence, said: “It was immensely satisfying to work with Canon on the first of many new tests as we extend our signage test platform into the roll-to-roll marketplace, testing its highly productive Colorado 1650. From what we saw throughout the evaluation, the Colorado 1650 certainly sets the bar high in this highly competitive and growing market.”
Mathieu Peeters, senior director strategic marketing large format graphics at Canon Production Printing, added: “We’re delighted that our Colorado 1650 has undergone Keypoint Intelligence’s stringent wide format signage assessment and that, as the report indicated, it performed so well. At Canon, it’s our highest priority to ensure that we can offer our customers and partners a solution that delivers breakthrough productivity, maximum quality and media versatility. To date, the Colorado series has seen close to 2,000 installations worldwide and feedback from our customers and partners has been very encouraging. This independent Keypoint Intelligence endorsement is a powerful way for us to strengthen the quality and productivity assurance we offer to customers and partners, and it provides proof of the printer’s excellent fit for the fast-growing digital wallpaper marketplace.”
Canon Production Printing Australia last month signed a partnership agreement with Starleaton to resell the award-winning Colorado roll-to-roll printer series across Australia.
