(17 November 2022, Hong Kong) Passion is an art, and the art of passion is reflected by the unlimited possibilities of colors. As a vital part of our everyday life, a good use of colors can not only catch attention and establish identity, but also lead waves on market, rendering colors a powerful secret weapon for businesses to maintain their competitive edges. As a world leader in business imaging technology, Canon Hong Kong hosted “Passion in Color 2022” exhibition at Four Seasons Hong Kong, Central, on 15 November 2022, showcasing how innovations in professional printing technology can bring to life a splendid world of colors and passions.
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Innovation with total imaging technologies has always been a core focus of Canon Hong Kong. Their breakthroughs have not only granted them a strong hold in their core B2B segment, but also have allowed them to actively expand footholds in new markets. In “Passion in Color 2022”, attendees were greeted with Canon Hong Kong’s latest professional printing offerings, including the debut of Canon imagePRESS V1000 production printing systems and the spotlighted large-format imagePROGRAF GP-450 graphic printer.
“Color is an essential element of our life,” said Mr. Kazuhiro Ozawa, the President and CEO of Canon Hong Kong at the grand opening, “there is no way more effective than colors to express our moods, tastes and even beliefs. At Canon, our professional printing products provide our customers with impactful color combination and top printing quality. With confidence, we will satisfy all needs of colors regardless of your business nature and industry. Today, we are delighted to introduce you to our latest printing technology together with our collection of aesthetical print works. Let’s unleash our creativity and imagination on this special occasion.”
The event identified 5 core segments for the company’s strategic development: retail industry, AEC industry, banking and finance, print service and general corporate office. Apart from their signature printing systems, Canon Hong Kong also showcased their newly launched business solutions ideal for each business segment. “Changes are inevitable under the new normal,” said Mr. Philip Chan, Senior Director and General Manager of Business Imaging Solution & Production Printing Group, Canon Hong Kong, “To stay ahead of the curve, we shall fully leverage digital technology in all facets of work so that we can sustain our best performance under changes. Canon offers an extensive series of office solutions to empower the digital transformation roadmap of businesses. We are assured our intelligent technologies, together with our cutting-edge hardware, will help our business partners to thrive now and in the future.”
Debuting the New Star of Production Printing
Media capability and productivity determine the performance of print service providers (PSP). In the spotlight of the event comes with the debut of Canon imagePRESS V1000 production printing systems. The new series is an exciting addition to the imagePRESS next generation lineup ideal for on-demand commercial printing. Powering from the popular 13A/220V socket, imagePRESS V1000 allows users to print with regular office power source and can seamlessly fit in any office environment. Most importantly, it prints on a wide variety of media applications, including booklets, business cards, envelopes, and other creative marketing collaterals. “With the broad media capability, imagePRESS V1000 allows us to play on different exciting formats with the best quality. It unlocks unlimited opportunities in Hong Kong’s production printing market”, said Mr. Philip Chan.
Productivity is never compromised. Featured with its new in-line spectrophotometer (ILS) sensors, imagePRESS V1000 offers advanced task automation especially on the auto-alignment of duplexed sheet, enabling optimal output quality with minimal manual involvement. Its latest POD-SURF fixing system can not only maintain consistent print speed of 100 ppm on coated and heavy media types, but also reduce the temperature adjustment downtime for each sheet. Complicated and mixed media jobs are undertaken with speed and reliability.
Whilst machine performance has a direct impact, print room productivity is also influenced by the output management approach. Canon introduced to attendees uniFLOW’s CRD Printing Module – part of Canon’s modular output management platform uniFLOW – as a complement to imagePRESS V1000. The software offers a holistic print infrastructure to centralize print job management, such as print job ticketing, tracking, and authentication. With intelligent delegation and automatic print matching option, it is a true ideal to cater multiple print jobs of individual or group customers at a time, not to mention the readymade online portal for direct deployment. It maintains peak production efficiency while diminishing any concerns on operation.
Consumer behavior is evolving fast especially in the post-pandemic era. Knowing customers well and responding with agility becomes a key strategy for businesses to stand out, so as the production of prints. Quadient Inspire – Canon’s customer communication management solution – tracks and analyzes customer behaviors, and tailors omnichannel communications accordingly. For instance, personalized leaflets and proposals can be produced by leveraging variable data printing technology. Putting together the solution with Canon’s light production offerings will enable businesses to stay flexible to market trends, thus preparing them well to cope with the unknown.
Cutting Through the Marketing Clutter
The retail industry is known for its keen competition. To stand out from the crowd, both advertising and internal management play a crucial role. In the event, Canon demonstrated their latest large format printer imagePROGRAF GP-540 which proudly owns the world’s first aqueous pigment fluorescent ink. It is also the first PANTONE calibrated printer for PANTONE PASTEL & NEON GUIDE Coated, in addition to the 99% coverage of the PANTONE FORMULA GUIDE Solid Coated. Its 11-color ultra-wide gamut delivers vivid shades from pastel through to neon, producing appealing graphics prints and posters with true impact. The graphic printer is equipped with a cutting-edge media handling system. Media are auto loaded, detected, and estimated, minimizing manual work to just one step. Its dual roll feeding unit and sub-ink tank design also renders productivity at its peak for high-volume promotion materials output.
Online content, on the other hand, has seen its rising importance in today’s digital-driven world. Canon’s brand-new Hybrid AF remote camera CR-N500 satisfy a wide range of shooting needs essential to content creation. Equipped with wide angle, 4K Imaging and high magnification ratio 20x optical zoom lens, the series is an ideal solution for high-quality streaming services. Webcasts, live streaming, , or online seminar can be delivered effortlessly to boost sales and attract new audience.
Inventory management is of equal importance to maintain the everyday operation of retailers. Canon’s Asset Manager grants retailers full visibility on both their product stock and resources like uniforms and display items. The solution comes with an advanced RFID reader set, a cloud inventory portal and operation mobile application. Users enjoy the industry-best read rate of over 1,300 tags per second and optimized read range up to 10m. The tracking, auditing and maintenance of retail assets can be accomplished with just a few simple scans.
Every Details Matter
Technologies have elevated business operations to an unprecedented level. Particularly, new printing solutions for the AEC industry deliver computer aided design (CAD) with unparalleled precision and efficiency. Canon’s ColorWave 3800 is a versatile innovation tailored for technical documents – including CAD and GIS – and graphic posters. Geared with the patented CrystalPoint Technology, the printing series offers instant-dry prints with sharp lines and excellent fine details. It confidently meets up with the excellent readability standards of AEC applications without hassles. Meanwhile, ColorWave 3800 fully optimizes productivity by holding up to 6 media rolls while printing both monochrome and color work with one single system. Large format and mixed print jobs can be handled simultaneously with minimal interruption.
To further enhance the workflow of AEC businesses, Canon also demonstrated their intelligent job order management solution Therefore™. The cloud-based platform centralizes the handling of all essential documents – quotation, PO, project documents, invoice and so on – and automates the workflows among engineers and back office from quotation to project execution. Not only can the project information be readily retrieved and followed up, but also can the project management be smoothened.
Top Security and Professional Consultancy
Customer centricity is at the core of the banking and finance segment. Surrounded with confidential information, financial practitioners shall always prioritize document security to retain customer loyalty. Canon’s imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX C5860i offers all-round security for document handling in both office and hybrid working modes. The printing series is highlighted by the adaptation of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 and McAfee Embedded Control, which safely encrypts data stored on the device and blocks all unauthorized execution. Together with a wide range of security features against breaches, imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX C5860i combines robust security and great usability for the handling of confidential documents.
Canon also introduced their cloud-based output management solution uniFLOW Online for the segment. Adopting a hybrid structure, uniFLOW Online allows print jobs to be fulfilled via Cloud network or mobile devices. Not only does it surpass the limitation of hardware and location, but also reduces the infrastructure cost for system setup. Information is safeguarded with multi-factor authentication, adding an extra layer of security at software level.
Whilst document management is fundamental to everyday operation, the sheer volume of everyday documents could be time-consuming for banks and financial institutes. Living up to the reputation of a reliable business partner, Canon offers outsourcing Canon Business Service to help with enterprise document management. The brand’s consultancy arm spreads across professional printing, scanning, archiving, and mailing. For each aspect, documents are handled from preparation to execution, with a great degree of customization adjustable to corporate needs. Businesses can thus reduce internal operation hurdles and focus on business growth.
Back to the Everyday Workplace
With information scattered between individuals and teams in the workplace, documents can be missing, outdated and unsecured easily. Canon showcased their collection of professional document management products designed for productive and stable office workflows. In terms of multi-function device, Canon brought with them their newly launched imagePRESS C265 ideal for SME in-house print environment. Succeeding the popular imagePRESS C165, the device is capable of a productive media range up to 1,300mm long sheet. Diverse applications such SRA3, envelopes and heavy media are well supported. Not to mention the familiar office user interface perfect for easy management of color consistency and color control, it encompasses professional in-line finishing to open up the possibility of in-house printing.
As for the management of digital documents, Canon’s signature document management system (DMS) Antelope offers a comprehensive platform to automate the capturing and analysis of data documents. Particularly, different solutions are available under the Antelope family to satisfy the needs of different parties of the company. For example, AI Contract of Antelope is an AI-powered contract management solution made to conduct high-level analysis and comparison on legal documents.
Moving towards a more digitalized business environment, enterprises seek to enhance flexibility and mobility in their everyday operation. Canon announced the new integration of Zoom video conferencing to their mobile-working platform MobileWork. Collaboration at the office or from afar is made seamless, not to mention the project management and DMS features to help you work anytime, anywhere.
Businesses have gone through changes and challenges in the past few years. “When there is uncertainty, there is also opportunity waiting to be unveiled,” said Mr. Kazuhiro Ozawa in his closing speech “Canon always strives to provide the best support to enterprises especially to those on their journey of transformation. We will continue to innovate with passion. Let’s create together a future we all passionate about.”