On 27 May, a day before the official opening of drupa 2024, Canon announced an expansion of its production portfolio with the entry into the B2 sheetfed inkjet market via the varioPRESS iV7, a new inkjet press capable of producing 8,700 B2 4/0 sheets per hour.
The varioPRESS iV7 empowers commercial printers to migrate work from digital presses and shorter runs from offset. Visitors to the Canon stand in Hall 8a at drupa can discover the details of the varioPRESS iV7 in an interactive animation and samples’ display. The first installations of the press in the EMEA region will happen in the second half of 2025.
Building on the proven technology of the varioPRINT iX3200/2100 B3 digital sheetfed inkjet presses, the new Canon varioPRESS iV7 has been engineered to address the increasing pressures of commercial print service providers (PSPs), online and publishing printers, and book producers. The varioPRESS iV7 will join the new varioPRINT iX1700 and varioPRINT iX3200/2100 to create a Canon portfolio of sheetfed inkjet presses.
With a maximum sheet size of 750 x 614 mm, the varioPRESS iV7 offers a B2+ production capability. This enables the production of a diverse range of applications, from magazines, catalogs, books, and marketing collateral to direct mail, postcards, and business cards. With its air-supported, straight and flat paper path and its two-step fixation, the press supports a wide range of coated and uncoated media up to 450gsm, including selected paperboards. The new two-step drying and fixation process, is claimed to reduce deformation and increase print robustness.
The varioPRESS iV7 features 1200 dpi printheads and water-based polymer pigment inks that, combined with Canon’s ColorGrip conditioning liquid, reproduce what is described by the company as a higher quality of color, fine text, and line-work detail. These improvements can be attributed to the multilevel drop size modulation of different droplet sizes, for both higher print quality and improved ink efficiency. The company states that printers can produce high-quality print that is first-time-right at high speed together with consistent color and less waste. The increased efficiency of the new press is claimed to increase efficiency while reducing overall production costs.
“With a large global base of both web-fed and sheetfed inkjet presses installed, we have accumulated deep expertise that we have channeled into the development of this B2 sheetfed press, the varioPRESS iV7, to address printers’ production challenges and open up further application opportunities,” said Jennifer Kolloczek, senior director, marketing & innovation, Production Printing, Canon EMEA.
“By introducing the varioPRESS iV7 to join the varioPRINT iX1700 and iX3200, both of which we are exhibiting at drupa, we are making sheetfed inkjet printing an attractive proposition for operations with volumes as low as 300,000 A4 images per month up to 4.5 million B2 images per month,” she added.
Canon’s chief marketing officer and senior vice president, Canon Production Printing Peter Wolff commented, “Over more than a decade, Canon is developing production inkjet technologies, and we believe that this machine is setting the highest bar in quality. The press will be available in the second half of 2025.”
