Canon Production Printing (CPP) has announced its new Colorado XL-series platform of 3.4m printers which essentially extends the ‘advantages’ of Canon's UVgel technology to now include the 3.2m graphics market. The new series is available in two easy-to-operate models: the Colorado XL7 roll-to-roll printer and the Colorado XL7 hybrid printer.
Canon has launched the new Colorado XL-series platform of 3.4m printers extending the ‘advantages’ of Canon's UVgel technology to now include the 3.2m graphics market
Steven Badger, Head of Sales & Professional Services at Canon Production Printing Australia, says: "Large format print providers in the 3.2m graphics market are increasingly looking for systems that deliver high productivity, versatile applications, and reliable quality, typically coupled with the challenge of needing skilled operators. The
Steven Badger, Head of Sales & Professional Services at Canon Production Printing Australia Colorado XL-series meets all these needs, along with an advanced platform that combines the significant advantages of our unique UVgel technology with extensive automation and a modular design that can grow with a customer’s business.”
The new series brings the benefits of UVgel to a new market segment with exceptional application versatility across a comprehensive range of media – from banner, paper, vinyl and films to textiles, heat-sensitive materials, foam board, fluted polypropylene, acrylic, aluminium composite boards and cardboard – providing the flexibility to tackle diverse customer requirements.
With print speeds of 70sqm/23 boards per hour in quality mode, 106sqm/35 boards per hour in production mode and up to 211sqm/70 boards per hour in express mode, the system delivers the productivity needed for demanding production environments, while accommodating substrates up to 52mm thick for rigid applications.
Like the Colorado M-series, the Colorado XL-series has a modular platform design, which means that it is field upgradable so it is possible to start with a roll-to-roll device, and then add a table for hybrid printing, or move to a dual roll option that allows two 1.6m rolls running side by side to be tensioned individually.
The Colorado XL-series also introduces the UVgel 860 gel set, which has been optimised to cover rigid and flexible applications. It also provides the proven benefits of UVgel: odourless and instant-dry prints, high mechanical and chemical robustness, dimensional stability due to low-temperature curing, excellent colour consistency, TPO- and VCL-free, and matte and gloss finishes without the need for a separate varnish.
The Colorado XL-series has a modular platform designThe series also has new UVgel 850 printheads, which have 4,544 nozzles and features automated, built-in nozzle performance monitoring and compensation, to facilitate optimum print quality. A single printhead supports two colours simultaneously, so that only two printheads are required to print CMYK, plus an optional third if white is needed. Additionally, the Colorado XL-series has an agile and precise printhead carriage that features UVgel DynamicMotion Control to ensure exceptional print quality even with challenging media. Machine vision technology actively tracks any micro movement of the media while the carriage is travelling and the UVgel DynamicMotion Control recalibrates the printhead positioning on-the-fly.
The Colorado XL series introduces UVgel Fullbeam Curing, taking the UV LED curing process to the next level. This technology uses a unique 3.4-metre-wide LED curing array that, combined with a clever mirror system, delivers consistent UV light dosing across the entire print width, guaranteeing exceptional print uniformity over large surfaces and enabling a wider colour gamut.
Automatically detecting and correcting the media positioning, the UVgel TRIdrive vacuum belt system features three interactive rollers and multiple powerful vacuum zones that reduce wrinkling and skewing and result in highly repeatable media transport through the printer, ensuring accurate positioning both longitudinally and laterally and enabling razor-sharp applications. This system enables automatic loading and straightening even for less experienced operators, reduced media waste by printing on the leading edge, and unattended printing through automatic tension adjustment on the feeding and take-up spindles. In addition, the vision-based Smart Guided Workflow provides operators with an intuitive media loading procedure that allows multiple boards to be loaded side-by-side and independently. Rigid boards are handled in multiple ‘lanes’ that are illuminated for ease of positioning.
Optional extras such as white ink, FLXfinish+ matte-to-gloss effects and FLXture textured finishes expand creative possibilities.
The new XL- series carries through the Sustainability benefits of the M series too. The UVgel inks are GREENGUARD Gold certified, low-VOC and odourless, ensuring suitability for sensitive indoor environments, while the series also supports eco-friendly media, including PVC-free and paper-based substrates, and built-in automation minimises waste and maximises uptime.
With over 5,000 Canon UVgel installations worldwide since its launch in 2017, the new XL- series has been launched globally and EMEA marketing and innovation director, Mathew Faulkner, adds: “Compared to options like latex, eco-solvent and classic UV printing, with UVgel there is no compromise: the gel quality allows us to separate printing and curing, and prints are light-fast and immediately scratch-resistant, which means less requirement for lamination.”
“The 3.2m segment of the market is heading towards hybrid because of the need for flexibility, for print providers to be able to say ‘yes’ to any jobs that come in, whether it’s roll-to-roll or rigid production”.
“Print service providers already producing high-value signage and graphics can now leverage UVgel's distinctive finishes, including mixed gloss and matte effects and textured printing, at scale to stand out in these new markets.”
Whilst first installations of the new Colorado XL-series will take place ‘soon’ in Europe, the series is expected to be available in the Oceania region by mid-2026.
Canon Production Printing Australia & New Zealand
