Melville, NY – Canon Solutions America, Inc., a subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., announced today that three of the newest Océ Arizona^® Series printer models were given the SGIA Product of the Year Award, marking the seventh year in a row that an Océ Arizona Series printer has been honored with this award since the product line began shipping in 2007. The award was presented at the Specialty Graphic & Imaging Association’s (SGIA) annual convention and exposition held October 23-25 in Orlando, FL.

The Océ Arizona Series printers won in the following categories:

• Océ Arizona 640 GT, Flatbed Rigid Substrate UV (<$200K MSRP)
• Océ Arizona 660 GT, Flatbed Rigid Substrate UV (>$200K MSRP)
• Océ Arizona 660 XT, Flatbed Rigid Substrate White ink UV (>$200K MSRP)

The Product of the Year Awards compare output from competing devices using a common test file designed by SGIA. The prints are reviewed by a panel of judges, each with a background and expertise in digital printing and imaging. The judges look for color appeal, detail and tonality, and the output is also judged on how closely it matches the test print.

The entry image was processed using ONYX^® Thrive^TM Océ Edition print workflow software, a scalable print production solution based on Adobe^® PDF Print Engine technology. ONYX Thrive software manages the wide format print production workflow process offering print service providers accurate, predictable, high quality printing results, and reducing costly errors.

Latest Members of the Océ Arizona Series Family

The Océ Arizona 600 Series printers made their worldwide debut earlier this year at FESPA in London and the first US showing at the recent PRINT 13 held September 8-12in Chicago, IL. The Océ Arizona 600 Series offers greater application versatility and production efficiencies than the Océ Arizona 550 Series it now replaces. Many new features that were originally introduced in the Océ Arizona 400 Series have been implemented in the Océ Arizona 600 Series:

• 4 or 6 independent ink channels with support for varnish, double-opacity white ink printing, or additional cyan and magenta channels for higher print quality at faster speeds.
• Active pixel placement compensation for optimum image sharpness, density and uniformity over the entire printing area - both flatbed or across roll media with the Roll Media Option.
• 6- or 7-zone vacuum systems, configured to match most standard-sized graphic arts media.
• Batch mode operation for streamlining multi-layered jobs or facilitating set collation.

After the Océ Arizona 400 Series, the new Océ Arizona 600 Series is the most productive in the product line.

Twelve “Product of the Year” Awards in Seven Years

The Océ Arizona Series UV flatbed printers have been consistently honored by the SGIA organization. In 2006, the year the original Océ Arizona 250 GT printer was introduced, it won the Vision Award, which is given to an exhibiting manufacturer whose new product has the best chance of positively impacting the digital imaging industry. The decision was based on the product’s relevance to the market, potential industry influence and prospective value to the product’s end users. Since then, seven Océ Arizona Series models have received Product of the Year awards in multiple categories.

Highly Acclaimed Flatbed Printer Series

All Océ Arizona Series printers – including the newest Océ Arizona 600 Series – share the same award-winning image quality and robust architecture, offering the Canon values of quality, reliability, productivity and user-friendliness. Since 2006, Océ Arizona Series UV flatbed printers have earned 38 industry awards from organizations throughout the world. These awards demonstrate the industry’s confidence in the quality and innovation built into every Océ Arizona Series printer. Approximately 4,000 systems have been sold to date placing this series at the forefront of the UV flatbed printer market.