An Avalanche of Inkjet Presses

In a banner week for inkjet technology, Canon U.S.A., Xerox and Kodak all launched new inkjet presses. On Tuesday, Canon finally officially introduced the long-awaited "Project Niagara" sheetfed inkjet press, though with a new (and somewhat less memorable) name: the Océ VarioPrint i300. The same day, Xerox’s Rialto 900 inkjet press, a roll-to-cut sheet device, was unveiled. Also throwing its hat in the ring, Kodak debuted its black-and-white Prosper 1000 Plus inkjet press.

The Océ VarioPrint i300 is the first high-speed inkjet press in Canon’s lineup. It provides a four-color ink system and can handle a variety of substrates, including uncoated, coated and inkjet treated paper. The press provides integrated end-to-end digital workflows with Océ PRISMAsync digital front end and Océ VarioPrint media handling. The i300 can print 300 A4 images per minute and is capable of generating 10 million letter or A4 images monthly. General U.S. availability of the VarioPrint i300 is slated for summer.

The Xerox Rialto 900 is reportedly the first fully integrated roll-to-cut sheet narrow web inkjet press. It was designed for printers who produce between 1.5 to 5 million impressions per month and offers the smallest footprint in an inkjet press: 11.9x5.1 feet.

The Rialto 900 can produce full-color, personalized direct mail, statements and books. To save additional space, the front-end controller, paper roll and finishing components are constructed into the machine. Additionally, the Rialto 900 prints 1,000x1,000 dpi "perceived resolution," provides integrated missing jet detection and duplex matching, and features an integrated cutter and stacker. Xerox says the Rialto 900 "is available for immediate order taking."

For the black-and-white inkjet market, Kodak debuted its Prosper 1000 Plus Press this week at Hunkeler Innovationdays in Switzerland. It can print at speeds up to 4,364 A4 pages per minute. Kodak feels this press will be well suited for printers servicing the book publishing industry.