Canon has announced the launch of the new Arizona 135 GT flatbed printer, offering sign makers, print service providers and offset and screen printers, among others, a smart technology investment to fulfil new business opportunities.
Whether you are starting out in the rigid applications, large format graphics industry or are looking to further diversify into new applications, the Arizona 135 GT delivers the proven benefits of the award-winning Arizona series – high image quality, impressive productivity and reliability, application versatility and excellent total cost of ownership – at a smart investment level. Manufactured in Poing, Germany, with the same industrial-build quality and heritage as all other Arizona models, the Arizona 135 GT further demonstrates its value by being able to create impressive applications across an extensive range of not only rigid media but, with its field upgradable Roll Media Option, of flexible media too.
Designed for outstanding productivity and application versatility, the easy-to-use Arizona 135 GT produces exceptional image quality. This is thanks to its VariaDot greyscale printing technology, which uses advanced drop size selection techniques to deliver photo-realistic images. With the ability to handle substrates of up to 125 x 250 cm in size and up to 50.8 mm thick and to print at speeds of up to 34.2 m²/hour, the Arizona 135 GT is a smart investment from just 2,000 m² per year.
The productivity of the Arizona 135 GT is enhanced by its easy-to-use functionality, including nesting, batching of complex jobs, step and repeat, mirroring and re-assignment of print modes. Accurate print registration avoids errors and the ability to make last-minute adjustments at the printer saves valuable time. And with uptime being crucial to any print operation, the Arizona 135 GT incorporates a number of service features to maximise availability: Automated Maintenance System provides hands-free printhead maintenance and selectively restores nozzle function in seconds, while On Remote Service allows the user to authorise remote assistance by experienced service technicians, ensuring the highest possible uptime.
Thanks to Arizona flatbed technology and its UV-LED curing, a vast range of durable applications are achievable on rigid or flexible media with standard or porous surfaces, including glass, aluminum and other metals, canvas, wood, MDF, cardstock, ceramic tiles and plastics. The optional Arizona Static Suppression Upgrade Kit also enables the Arizona 135 GT to print on hard plastic materials, such as acrylic, polycarbonate and styrene, while the Arizona Classic high-pressure vacuum system provides extremely reliable media hold-down during printing, even for warped rigid media. Even more opportunities are accessible with the flatbed printer’s field-upgradeable Roll Media Option. This allows users to produce flexible media applications up to 220 cm wide, including thin and heat-sensitive media, and to run roll-to-roll jobs unattended overnight.
The Arizona 135 GT comes with Arizona Xpert prepress software, enabling the design and production of high-value applications with ease. Including ready-made recipes for easy-to-create applications, the software allows users to exchange recipes directly with customers, so that designers can preview the end product with a 3D view in the Arizona Xpert Extensions, minimising design errors. The Arizona approach to first-time-right printing leads to less waste and fewer costly mistakes which, in turn, leads to better overall margins and faster turnaround times. Arizona Xpert also offers further high-margin opportunities for textured surface prints – the ability to print applications with multiple ink layers.
The Arizona 135 GT’s VariaDot technology uses variable drop sizes from 6 to 30 picolitres. Not only does this produce pin-sharp images but it also means that the Arizona printing process consumes as much as 50% less ink than regular flatbed printers, making the Arizona 135 GT environmentally and economically attractive. The device’s environmental credentials also include the use of UL GREENGUARD Gold certified inks for any indoor applications, such as in schools, hospitals, and retail stores – and the low emissions make for a healthier printing environment too. Additionally, the Arizona 135 GT features low-energy consumption as a result of its Instant-On functionality and minimal warm-up time thanks to its LED lamps. Other energy saving features include its standard voltage power supply, energy-efficient curing process and power-efficient vacuum pumps. Finally, the new Arizona will, in time, be included in the Arizona Remanufacturing Programme, giving a second life to what is already a very sustainable flatbed printer.
Michele Tuscano, Head of Global Partner Channel & Vice President EMEA - Large Format Graphics at Canon Production Printing, comments, “As a family of flatbed printers, the Arizona has become renowned for its image quality, productivity, reliability and application versatility, achieving multiple awards and resulting in over 7,500 installations worldwide. In bringing the Arizona 135 GT to market, predominantly through our Partner channel, we’re looking to offer sign makers, print service providers and offset and screen printers, among others, either starting out in the large format graphics industry or those that want to diversify into new applications the ideal flatbed platform for printing multiple applications on both rigid and flexible media. As the latest member of the fifth generation of Arizona printers, the Arizona 135 GT offers users the same core technology and benefits of its mid-volume siblings at an attractive investment level and we’re confident that it will again prove to be as popular as its predecessors with customers.”
