CHICAGO—Canon offered a virtual demonstration of its upcoming high-volume sheetfed colour inkjet digital press, dubbed "Niagara" during development, at Print 13 last week.

The machine is aimed at companies moving from offset to high-volume digital production. "Offset run lengths are rapidly decreasing while job frequencies are increasing," said Sam Yoshida, vice president and general manager of Canon's Marketing, Business Imaging Solutions Group, in a release.


Canon previews Niagara at the Print 13 trade show

"To achieve the flexibility, speed and control over operational costs required to compete effectively, professional printers need solutions capable of meeting a wider array of applications," Yoshida said.

The Niagara device features a four-colour ink system and a future extension to six-colour is being planned. It will print B3 sheetfed colour inkjet on standard coated or uncoated offset stock, at forecasted speeds of up to 3,800 duplexed B3 sheets per hour and 8,500 duplexed letter sheets per hour.

It will also offer an integrated end-to-end digital workflow built onto the Oce Prisma software platform. The first Niagara-based presses are expected to launch in the first half of 2014.