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Another new Photo printer. Has Canon finally awakened?

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Michael Greer

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Jul 15, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/15/97

I'm reposting the following article that appeared on Business Wire.
While the article seems to have been written by a Canon PR person
instead of an impartial reporter, it does convey an understandable
excitement about the product IF, it meets it's hype. The technology
sounds interesting, but also complex. I have to wonder if this is going
to be a reliable machine. But if it deliveres what this article states
it can deliver, then we need to expand the 2 man (HP and Epson) photo
printer race to include a 3rd entry.

Please post impressions of the contents of this article. I'm curious
about what others think.

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Canon's BJC-7000 in a League of Its Own;
Industry's First Seven-Color System
Matches 35mm Film Print Quality

Source: Business Wire

COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE) via Individual
Inc. --

Exclusive P-POP Technology Excels at Plain Paper Printing;
100

Percent Water-Resistant Printing Only From New Canon
Bubble Jet

Canon predicted last year that its Photo Inks would approach
the quality of 35mm film output, and today it surpasses that
achievement by introducing a Color Bubble Jet printer that
matches photographic printing.

The BJC-7000 is the ink jet industry's first seven-color system
that attains the highest-quality photo-realistic printing
available today. The BJC-7000 also offers a revolutionary
Canon technology, Plain Paper Optimized Printing, or P-POP,
that ensures 100 percent water-resistance on plain paper in
both color and black and offers photo ink printing on plain
paper.

At an estimated street price of $449(a), the BJC-7000 uses an
exclusive new dual printhead design and Bi-level Inks, an
evolution of Canon's Photo Inks. The new printer, which will
ship in October, also allows for edge-to-edge printing on an
8.5-by-11-inch page. The flexibility and quality performance
of this new Bubble Jet is being applauded by industry insiders.

"As the personal printer market continues to become ever more
competitive, particularly in quality and in price/performance,
CCSI continues to prove itself as one of the few world-class
players," said Bill Flynn, senior consultant, CAP Ventures. "As
far as image quality goes, Canon's newest printers can hold their
own against anything on the market, including products costing
10 times as much or more."

P-POP for the Ultimate in Plain Paper Output

One of the biggest printing technology breakthroughs for 1997
is Canon's Plain Paper Optimized Printing, or P-POP. Using
Canon's exclusive Ink Optimizer system, the BJC-7000 is the
only ink jet in its class to offer true photographic-quality
printing on plain paper with output that is 100 percent
water-resistant in both color and black.

This new technology uses a unique dual head configuration in
which color, black ink and Ink Optimizer are precisely placed
on plain paper to attain photographic quality. The instant
before a drop of ink is released from the printhead, a drop of Ink
Optimizer liquid pre-coats the plain paper. The Ink Optimizer
liquid works as a quick-drying, water-proofing agent to keep
the ink in place without penetrating the paper.

This process eliminates feathering and bleeding between colors,
while improving optical density and producing sharper text,
richer colors and denser blacks. Because P-POP allows users to
print with Photo Inks on plain paper, cost-per-page savings is
dramatic -- more than a 10-cent savings for each page vs. the
cost of Canon competitors who need special coated paper with
their high-resolution photo inks.

In addition to true photo-realistic output on plain paper,
P-POP also achieves another Canon first -- 100 percent
water-resistance in both black and color on plain paper. Again,
the Ink Optimizer "sets" the color dyes so that any liquid is
repelled to ensure whatever is printed will not run or bleed. No
other ink jet printer company can claim this achievement.

"P-POP will be the new measure of excellence for plain paper
ink jet printing," said Peter Bergman, CCSI's vice president of
marketing and customer care. "Because Canon dedicates so
many of its resources to improving ink formulations, printhead
designs and its sophisticated nozzle ejection system, we are light
years ahead of the competition when it comes to enhancing
print quality while also saving our customers money."

Bi-level Inks for the Most Realistic Photo-Quality Printing

Building on the success of its Photo Ink technology which
Canon pioneered last year, Canon now introduces Bi-level Inks
for its BJC-7000. These inks combine the Photo Ink concept of
low-density cyan, magenta and yellow with regular density
cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This unique seven-color
system creates multi-level gradation printing, more than four
times the levels of competitive printers, for the most intense
photo-realistic printing available.

The Bi-level Inks utilize a unique dual-printhead design with
more than 1,000 nozzles and two printheads. One printhead is
an integrated head and tank for black ink and Ink Optimizer
and the other is a standard ink cartridge with a replaceable
tri-color ink tank or Photo Ink/standard ink combination
six-color tank.

The combination of Photo Inks and standard inks in the same
printhead improves photo quality by offering nine levels of
gradation to achieve greater color range, subtle hues and less
pixelation, especially in light-colored areas. It expands the
palette of color tones available, which is the goal of
photographic printing. This state-of-the-art technology truly
matches 35mm film for image quality.

"Bi-level Inks achieve `eye-popping' brilliant photographic
output unsurpassed by any other ink jet printer," continued
Bergman. "The best thing about the BJC-7000 is that it can
simulate photo-quality color printing as well as create the
sharpest black text in the business -- this is not a niche product
but the ultimate ink jet printer for every printing need our
customer has."

Industry's Only Edge-to-Edge Printing in its Price Class

The BJC-7000 also offers consumers the ability to print 100
percent coverage on an 8.5-inch-by-11-inch page using
Canon's exclusive edge-to-edge printing technology. Now, true
professional desktop publishing is possible in the home office or
small business.

The printer features a new specialty paper only from Canon,
LetterPlus, an uncoated medium that measures 9 inches by 13.3
inches. It is perforated so that the margin can be removed,
leaving a full 8.5-inch-by-11-inch printout. LetterPlus paper
will offer a considerable savings to Canon's customers who will
no longer need an expensive desktop publishing service.

Canon Creative: Third Generation is Photo-Centric and
Web-Aware

The BJC-7000 ships with a comprehensive software package
including Canon Creative 3 now with enhanced photo and Web
capabilities.

As the pioneer in an integrated software strategy for its Bubble
Jet printers, Canon now offers its third generation of Canon
Creative. Canon Creative is a collection of easy-to-use
software applications and content that allows consumers to
quickly produce photo-quality results, whether for a small
business, home office or family use.

Canon Creative 3 further enhances Canon's commitment to
PhotoRealism, through full support of photos and image content
in all applications and provides instant access to any scanner or
digital camera. Making it even easier to use, Canon Creative's
new Image Strip provides a quick, accessible way to share
images between any Windows 95 application.

In response to customer requests, Canon Creative is now fully
Web-aware, offering Internet access and essential utilities like
Canon's unique WebRecord to put the power of the Web in
print. In addition, Canon Creative 3 will use the Web to provide
program updates, such as new printer drivers, and free content
automatically to your desktop.

Canon puts the emphasis on the small office with its own Design
Essentials color desktop publishing application, offering more
than 90 easy-to-use templates to create more than 500
variations on brochures, newsletters, business cards and
stationery, postcards, T-shirt designs and other templates
important to business owners.

The business-oriented applications in Canon Creative 3, the
exceptional quality printing and Canon's specialty papers
combine to create professional printed materials, making the
BJC-7000 the ultimate small-business printer.

Availability, Warranty and Customer Technical Support

The BJC-7000 offers 1200 x 600 dpi resolution. The printer
measures 18.3 inches wide by 8.6 inches high by 13.5 inches deep
and weighs 13.1 pounds. It is Windows 3.1 and 95 compatible
and will be available in October at an estimated street price of
$449(a).

For all Bubble Jet printers, CCSI offers customers a one-year
limited warranty, with the InstantExchange warranty
program(b).

In addition, CCSI offers a full range of customer technical
support options for new BJC-7000 customers, including:
24-hour, 7-day-a-week, toll-free automated support for basic
product troubleshooting issues; option to speak to a technician
free of service charge during regular business days/hours; paid
support for urgent product matters during non-regular business
hours; the Canon Computer Systems Inc. Web site; and
24-hour, toll-free Fax Retrieval System(c).

PhotoRealism -- The New Gold Standard

In 1977, Canon invented the drop-on-demand Bubble Jet
technology used in more than 30 million printers today. Since
then, Canon has earned more than 10,000 patents in Bubble Jet
technology alone and currently employs more than 500
engineers developing new advances in this technology.

Pioneering color ink jet printing on plain paper, Canon also was
the first ink jet printer manufacturer to offer Photo Inks,
providing consumers a new level of output quality that
continues to improve as technology advances.

Whether a customer is printing monochrome text, color graphs
or photographic images, Canon's PhotoRealism products offer a
new level of quality by which all other printers will be judged.

About CCSI

Canon Computer Systems Inc. (CCSI) is a subsidiary of both
Canon USA Inc. (Lake Success, N.Y.) and Canon Inc. (Tokyo).
The company, with headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif., was
founded in 1992 to market Canon-branded computer
peripheral products in the United States, including Color
Bubble Jet printers, and Photo Inks, the MultiPASS line of
Canon Convertible printers, FAXPHONE facsimile machines,
PowerShot digital cameras, Canon Creative and WebRecord
Internet printing software.

CCSI is uniquely positioned to offer both home and
small-office consumers true PhotoRealism -- the new gold
standard in computer input and output quality -- based on its
technological heritage in optical imaging and color printing.
Customers are reached via the mass market channel -- a
network of computer dealers, superstores and mass merchants.

For more information, customers can call 1-800/848-4123 or
visit the CCSI Web site at www.ccsi.canon.com . Canon will also
unveil its latest Web site, photorealism.com, in early August.

Canon, celebrating its 60-year anniversary, is recognized as the
world's largest computer printer manufacturer, a leader in
imaging technology and a top worldwide patent holder. As a
global technology leader, Canon achieved $22 billion in
worldwide sales in 1996.

(a) Prices are estimates only at time materials created. Prices
subject to change at any time. Actual prices are determined by
individual dealers and may vary.

(b) InstantExchange warranty program is subject to certain
restrictions and limitations. See warranty card for full details.

[07-14-97 at 06:04 EDT, Business Wire]

--
Mike Greer

"Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision."

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