Canon looking for partners in the large format printing space

New Delhi

October 24th, 2007

Canon is all set to expand its channel base in the Large Format Printing
segment. At present the company has five channel partners in the large format
printing segment and it is hoping to add 20 odd partners in the same. These
partners will concentrate on selling the image prograph series from canon. These
partners would include the established players alongside the partners who have
just entered the domain and looking for tie-ups. This aside the company is also
looking for a tie-up with two of India's leading retail chains for their
photocopiers, digital cameras and other related digital products, the
announcements of which will be made shortly.

Canon has geared up to increase focus on production and graphic arts industry
and has launched a product called ImagePress C7000VP digital press, the
company's latest technological innovation. The product will be formally launched
at the trade exhibition, IPEX '07 South Asia to be held in Greater Noida. In
addition, the company is also looking at setting up demo centers and training
manpower to focus on the value additions they provide for the customers.

Elaborating on the recent growth in the digital printing market, Som
Gangopadhyaa, Director Business Imaging Solutions, Canon India stated,
"Retail is the order of the day but as far as the enterprise market is
concerned, the market for printing in India is not professionally organized.
Canon's solutions will help SME's to deliver faster and good quality printing.
Bill printing is one area where industries right from Telecoms to BFSI require a
lot of in-house printing. Keeping the above in mind, Canon will offer customized
solutions and applications that cater to verticals like telecom, banking, retail
and pharma."

The imagePress C7000VP is a high end product and will be priced between
Rs.1.2-1.25 crore. The printer has 13/19 printing size.

Canon is also coming up with demo centers in Gurgaon and NCR regions. It
already has a demo center in Mumbai and Bangalore. Informing about the same
Puneet Datta, Senior Manager, Marketing Business Imaging Solutions, Canon India
said, "We are not looking at the demo centers as the point of sales for the
company, on the contrary a customer can come to these showrooms and have a look
and feel of the products and garner as much knowledge and information on the
various aspects they wish to."

Throwing light on the large format-printing segment, he said that with the
mall culture fast catching up with people, a new breed of consumers is emerging
and hence the demand for indoor printing is on the rise when compared to outdoor
printing. He also added that Canon has 12 colors to offer in the large format
printing and are using special ink called the Lucia ink for enhancing the
quality. "People today are not looking at the running cost which is very
high but are more concerned about the quality," opined Datta. Canon is also
providing a digital photocopier, print plug in for digital photo professional
and print plug in for Photoshop in the machine.