Canon U.S.A., Inc. announced a revolutionary new technology at the 2016 SGIA Expo that was held in Las Vegas last week. This new printing technology is said to transform wide format roll-to-roll printing. The UVgel printing technology uses gel inks to produce high quality images, especially for wide format prints.
This unique technology is about to be featured in Canon’s new line of roll-to-roll printers, the first of which will be a 64″ roll-to-roll printer to be released in the spring of 2017. As stated at their press release, the UVgel technology will offer large format print providers an unprecedented combination of productivity, image quality, application range, automation and low cost of operation.
Toyotsugu Kuwamura, executive vice president and general manager, said at the SGIA conference: “We are very excited to show this revolutionary new game-changing technology. This new technology will power an upcoming generation of roll-to-roll printers that will help our customers increase their print production efficiency while lowering their operating costs, enabling them to profitably grow their business.”
The extraordinary UVgel features will guarantee the most durable, cost-effective, color fast, non-toxic, high-quality prints for practically any wide format application.
UVgel featured elements and benefits according to Canon:
- New UV curable ink that instantly gels on contact with the media, resulting in precise dot placement and area control for consistent high-quality images at high speed
- Ultra-thin ink dispersion with almost no discernible physical profile and the lowest ink consumption rate can provide up to a 40 percent reduction in printing costs compared to eco-solvent and latex
- The large color gamut of solvent inks combined with the environmental benefits and safety profile of latex and UV inks