Canon imagePROGRAF Large Format and PIXMA Photo All-In-One Printers Produce Award-Winning Prints for Inkjet 50 Inches Wide Or More and Best Black and White With Grayscale Inks Categories

LAS VEGAS, March 3, 2009 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today received two DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out awards for fine art photographic printing at the 2009 PMA International Convention and Trade Show.  Canon is proud to announce that the Company received DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out awards for both the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF9100 60-inch large format printer for “Inkjet 50 inches Wide or More” category and the PIXMA MP980 Photo All-In-One (AIO) printer for “Black and White, Best B&W with grayscale inks” category.  The Digital Printer Shoot-Out award winning prints are on display at PMA 2009, March 3rd – 5th at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Decided by a panel of judges, the award-winning prints won based on the “overall quality of the digital print.”

“Inkjet 50 Inches Wide or More” Award – imagePROGRAF iPF9100
The winning image for the “Inkjet 50 inches Wide or More” category was printed with the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF9100 large format printer on Canon-branded Heavyweight Satin, 300 gsm fine art media.  The printer utilizes the Company’s twelve-color ink system featuring Canon’s proprietary LUCIA pigment inks including four enhanced monochrome inks. Canon’s LUCIA inks enable the imagePROGRAF printers to achieve smooth natural image expression for remarkable results.

Canon’s 12-color large format printers provide one of the industry’s largest color gamuts with an ink set featuring LUCIA pigmented inks with Red, Blue, Green, Cyan, Photo Cyan, Magenta, Photo Magenta, Yellow, Black, Matte Black, Gray and Photo Gray.  The brand’s proprietary L-COA controller processes high-resolution files with unprecedented speed and award-winning quality. The L-COA controller’s new intelligent screen dot pattern and precise ink drop control eliminate visible dot graininess to an even higher level than their predecessors.

“Our imagePROGRAF large format printers have been steadily making a name for themselves and industry recognition such as this helps further the Canon brand in this market. We are proud to accept this award on behalf of the Canon large format team,” said Jim Rosetta, vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A.

“Black and White, Best B&W with Grayscale Inks” Award – PIXMA MP980
The winning entry for the “Black and White, Best B&W with grayscale inks” category was printed on the Canon PIXMA MP980 Photo AIO printer on Canon Photo Paper Pro Platinum.  The combination of Canon’s print technology, paper and ink resulted in the award-winning print.  The PIXMA MP980 is the first AIO printer to include a separate gray and photo black ink, for truly neutral black-and-white photo printing, a key demand for an SLR camera user. As the flagship model of the Canon AIO printer line, the MP980 has a sleek modern styling, small footprint and curved exterior to fit the décor of any home or office.

The All-In-One printer for the photography enthusiast, the PIXMA MP980 Photo AIO comes packed with just about all the features an aspiring photographer could want, with the built-in convenience of Wi-Fi or ethernet enabled printing[1].  Equipped with Canon’s six-color individual ink tanks, part of the ChromaLife100+ system for long-lasting vibrant photos[2], the inks include a gray and photo black ink, for true black and white photography. The printer produces beautiful long-lasting prints with enhanced fade resistance for up to 300 years when stored in an archival-quality photo album, using Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II (PP-201)[3].   

“The combination of the Canon Chromalife 100+ system and genuine Canon photo paper and ink utilized by the PIXMA MP980 AIO printer produces stunning print quality in both black and white as well as color photography. We are very pleased to receive such accolades for photographic print quality at the largest photography trade show of the year,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranked third overall in the U.S. in 2008†, with global revenues of US $45 billion, is listed as number seven in the computer industry on Fortune Magazine's World’s Most Admired Companies 2008 list, and is on the 2008 BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands."  At Canon, we care because caring is essential to living together in harmony.  Founded upon a corporate philosophy of Kyosei  - - “all people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future” - - Canon U.S.A. supports a number of social, youth, educational and other programs, including environmental and recycling initiatives.  Additional information about these programs can be found at www.usa.canon.com/kyosei.  To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/RSS .

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† Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

All referenced product names, and other marks, are trademarks of their respective owners.

Specifications are subject to change without notice.

1. Wireless printing requires a working Ethernet network with wireless 802.11b/g capability. Wireless performance may vary based on terrain and distance between the printer and wireless network clients.

2. Canon cannot guarantee the longevity of prints; results may vary depending on printed image, drying time, display/storage conditions, and environmental factors. See www.usa.canon.com/chromalife100plus for additional details.

3. Based on accelerated testing by Canon in dark storage under controlled temperature, humidity and gas conditions, simulating storage in an album with plastic sleeves. Canon cannot guarantee the longevity of prints; results may vary depending on printed image, drying time, display/storage conditions, and environmental factors. See www.usa.canon.com/chromalife100plus for additional details.