Georgia State Enhances Print Quality With New Canon Presses

Having the right tools to meet your needs is paramount. That’s why the in-plant at Georgia State University (GSU) recently installed the Canon imagePRESS V1000 and imagePRESS V900 to replace its Xerox Versant V3100 and V280.

“We had a lot of [Fiery] software and hardware issues in the past, and that was pushing us back,” says Jormaris Lopez-Estrada, print production specialist at GSU. “It wasn’t giving us the best print quality, so we needed something that was efficient and had precision and could assure us that we’re going to get the best product to our customers.”

Part of the decision to go with Canon drew from the financial aspects of the investment.

“We typically buy from the State of Georgia contract because of their great buying power,” says Kevin Kelley, director of Print and Mail Services at GSU. Canon is one of the vendors available. Some team members had previously used Canon equipment and were pleased with the print quality and service, so the in-plant decided on the Canon imagePRESS V1000 and V900.

After learning during lease renewal talks with Xerox that interest rates had increased the cost of leasing, the in-plant decided to purchase the two Canon machines instead of leasing, says Kelley.

Since installation on July 15, the team has noticed improvements in job production across the board. One of the most favorable changes has been the software. The Clarkston-based shop switched from Fiery software to the Canon-exclusive PRISMAsync.

“I love that every setting is customizable,” praises Lopez-Estrada. “By being customizable, it allows you to meet your goals and allows you to find the best workflow that works for your print shop. That means higher productivity, quicker turnaround; it’s very intuitive and very user friendly.”

The machines themselves have great front-to-back registration and are also user friendly enough that the shop has started training its five student assistants on them, which will give them more experience for the future, says Lopez-Estrada.

The in-plant is looking forward to moving beyond traditional products such as flyers, business cards, postcards, and banners and tackling new challenges with the Canon equipment.

“I’m still exploring, experimenting, learning new things every day,” Lopez-Estrada says, adding that she is excited to try 51" long media. Since the V1000 handles substrates up to 400 GSM, she is also eager to print on heavier stocks like textured and specialty media.

Additionally, the Canon machines can easily match GSU’s specific shade of blue, PANTONE 286. Maintaining color consistency across all printing media, Kelley adds, helps the in-plant’s relationship with the PR department.

To top it all off, Lopez-Estrada and Kelley agree that the relationship between the GSU in-plant and Canon has gotten off to a great start. So far, Canon’s support staff has walked the team through training and made the whole learning process less daunting.

“It’s intimidating — change can be intimidating,” ,” says Lopez-Estrada. “But I’m also really glad we made this decision.