Canon Europe is pleased to announce that, following a successful test phase, the first live EMEA customer for the Océ Colorado 1640 64” roll-to-roll printer – Comdatek GmbH in Germany – has made the decision to install a total of five printers.
Alongside the first two printers installed earlier this year, three additional Océ Colorado 1640 printers, incorporating the new Canon UVgel technology, will be installed at Comdatek’s production facility in Hückelhoven near Mönchengladbach by the end of 2017.
The company, which specialises in digitally printed collateral for advertising and promotion, introduced the first Océ Colorado 1640 alongside its existing line-up of latex and eco-solvent printers with a view to increase productivity as part of an ambitious plan to sustain its growth.
The first Océ Colorado printer was installed at Comdatek in March 2017, ahead of its full market launch at FESPA 2017, and has been rigorously tested by the Comdatek team for a range of applications, with the emphasis on posters and backlit advertising material. On the strength of the printer’s performance and the depth of support provided by Canon during the test phase, the Comdatek management team has opted to extend its investment with Canon.
Comdatek was first introduced to the Océ Colorado 1640 by Canon partner Heinrich Steuber GmbH, who identified Canon UVgel technology as a potential solution to Comdatek’s need for highly productive output technologies for a broad range of media. The Heinrich Steuber team were confident that the ability to produce high quality prints at 150m2 per hour could significantly boost Comdatek’s output capacity, while the high level of automation and media versatility would suit the high throughput requirements of this busy production environment.
The limitations of prevailing roll-to-roll technologies were a key factor in Comdatek’s initial decision to bring Canon UVgel technology into the business, as owner and managing director Viktor Kelm explains. ”Classical solvent technologies are proven, but they do have their limitations for higher quality applications. Colour reproduction can be inconsistent and banding is a recurring problem, for example. Our solvent and latex systems also require a high level of daily maintenance, which is becoming more of an issue as our client workload increases and we move towards three-shift production on most of our devices.”
Comdatek marks a decade in business in 2017, during which time the young company has grown from three to 200 employees, working from a 6000 m2 production site. The company has put digital production at the centre of its growth strategy. It continually evaluates innovative technologies that will enhance its ability to deliver high quality products to marketing customers who are keen to minimise time to market for their promotional materials.
Viktor Kelm continues: “With the Océ Colorado 1640, we believe that Canon has delivered a unique roll-to-roll system that opens many future opportunities for our business. The Colorado printers produce high quality, durable printed output at double the speed we can achieve with our existing solvent printers, which is a massive boost for our productivity. Ink consumption is lower than with existing technologies, and the low temperature UVgel system also gives us the opportunity to work with a wider range of media, including lower-cost uncoated options.”
Production is mainly automated using hot folders to manage jobs arriving via Comdatek’s web portal, while the automated nozzle cleaning on the Océ Colorado 1640 and the ease of switching between media rolls means that the printers need minimal intervention from the team, allowing production to proceed virtually unsupervised. The intuitive interface has also enabled Comdatek to train multiple team members on the printer, improving business flexibility.
Mark Lawn, Director, Graphic & Communications Group, Canon Europe comments: “Comdatek has been an extremely proactive early adopter of Canon UVgel technology, working intensively with our product specialists to provide continuous constructive feedback on their experiences with the Océ Colorado 1640 printer. This has, in turn, helped us to fine-tune its performance across a wide range of media and applications.
"We’re delighted that Comdatek’s experiences with the first Océ Colorado have been so positive, and that the advantages of Canon UVgel technology have proved so compelling that they have opted to install four further printers. It’s rewarding to know that Canon wide-format production solutions will now play a pivotal role in Comdatek’s dynamic future growth plans."
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