Canon’s imagePROGRAF iPF8400S machine
The two new imagePROGRAF machines are “stripped-down” and aimed at the inplant market.
PrintWeek reported on the launch by the OEM of the “entry-level” machines, the imagePROGRAF iPF6400SE and the imagePROGRAF iPF8400SE, which are 609.66mm (20in) and 1,117mm (44in) wide-format devices.
The printers are “primarily targeted” at inplant markets for corporate, retail and hospitality sectors, though Canon notes that they “would also be suited to commercial and high-street printers looking to take their first steps” into the wide-format world. The devices are mid-range between Canon’s CAD (computer-assisted design) and photo and production wide-format printers, with six colours including CMYK, matte black and red.
The inks used in the devices are said to offer “lower ink consumption” as well as “durable image life”, with larger tanks an option in both 300 and 700ml sizes, in comparison to the standard 130ml and 330ml for the 6400SE and 8400SE respectively. Both printers can produce an A1 coated poster in 60 seconds in a fast economy mode or 105 seconds in standard mode.
The 6400SE is also 20 percent smaller than the standard 6400 and 6400S printers in its printer family, and both it and the 8400SE are “designed to be operable by users with ‘little or no experience’”, according to Canon, with Microsoft and Adobe plugin software included as standard.
Richard Turner, Marketing Director of Canon UK’s Wide-format Group, stated: “Some people are already using the five-colour devices as multifunction printers, and they’re pretty capable machines for a broad range of applications from CAD to posters and commercial print, but the addition of the red is particularly useful in point-of-sale when it comes to producing [reds and oranges for] eye-catching designs.
“If customers are looking for the range of applications that the eight-colour machines provide, then they will still buy an eight-colour, but if they have very specific requirements for poster production with the red ink, then these new machines are perfect.”
The two printers are available for order now and begin shipping “shortly”.