Canon unveils its corrPRESS iB17

Canon is attending the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO) where it has announced the Canon corrPRESS iB17 at a technical seminar in Rome.

The Canon corrPRESS iB17 is capable of digitally printing up to 8,000 m² per hour (15 million m² per year). The corrPRESS iB17 delivers offset-like quality directly onto corrugated boards up to 1.7 m wide, using water-based inks and primer for indirect food contact.

The highly automated corrPRESS iB17 enables cost-efficient short- to medium-length runs with ultra-fast turnaround times and requires fewer operators and lower skill levels.

Craig Nethercott, managing director, Canon Production Printing Oceania, said: ‘The corrPRESS iB17 is a game-changer for the Oceania market. It brings high-speed, offset-quality digital printing to corrugated packaging, helping converters meet growing demand for fast, flexible and sustainable production.’

Building on Canon's expertise and experience in commercial digital printing and following the development roadmap presented as a concept at Drupa 2024, the Canon corrPRESS iB17 will address the evolving needs of corrugated converters that face increasing pressure to deliver shorter runs with more variants, faster turnaround times and premium quality, and all without compromising cost efficiency.

Offering industrial-scale throughput of up to 8,000 m² per hour, the corrPRESS iB17 enables converters to achieve cost-efficient production for runs of up to 20,000 m², extending the viability of digital printing well beyond traditional short runs. Supported by automated printhead cleaning and quality control systems.

The press minimises operator intervention while maximising production efficiency and also reduces waste through efficient print-on-demand and eliminates the use of printing plates and chemicals. Unlike conventional technologies, the corrPRESS iB17 does not produce contaminated water, which then requires filtration or discharge into the wastewater system.

Featuring proprietary, high-performance 1200 DPI piezo printheads and specially formulated water-based pigment inks and primer, which provide an extended colour gamut with CMYK and later OVG, the corrPRESS iB17 achieves pre-print offset-like quality in the post-print process.

This improves production efficiency by eliminating the traditional lamination step while reproducing vibrant, accurate and consistent colours, sharp text and precise detail on both coated and uncoated topliners at rated speeds. The system also uses an advanced spot primer that ensures optimal ink adhesion and colour reproduction across the full range of corrugated materials. The ink is jetted onto the board immediately after the primer application, without any drying time in between, minimizing the impact of drying on the board and contributing to a highly reliable production process.

The sophisticated Canon drying technology in the corrPRESS iB17 has been optimised to minimise corrugated board stress and energy consumption and to increase production efficiency. Covering approximately 80percent of retail packaging applications, the system supports coated and uncoated boards up to 1.7 m wide and 1.3 m long, and ranging from 1 mm to 8 mm thick, at a linear speed of 80 m per minute.

Unusually for a digital corrugated press, Canon owns all the key components in the printing process – printheads, inks and drying – enabling Canon to optimise the system's performance more easily. This high level of integration and synchronisation will result in high-quality levels of productivity and reliability.

Peter Wolff, chief marketing officer and senior vice president at Canon Production Printing, said: ‘The announcement of the Canon corrPRESS iB17 marks a pivotal milestone in Canon’s journey to becoming a key player in the packaging industry and reflects our commitment to supporting corrugated converters as they navigate today’s unprecedented challenges.

‘By combining proven proprietary inkjet technology with an industrial board transport system, we’ve developed a press that delivers offset-quality prints with outstanding productivity and digital flexibility, all developed for indirect food contact applications.

‘Although Canon is new to the corrugated market, we bring decades of industrial inkjet expertise which enables us to deliver a digital press that will empower converters to transform their operations while maintaining the reliability their businesses depend on.’