Once every five years, Canon hosts a multi city event designed to let them flex their muscles and show the world who they are. This year I attended the first of a four-city endeavor that started in NYC. Other cities include Paris, Tokyo and somewhere in China (I can’t remember which city but it might be Bejing).

Canon is one of the largest annual patent recipients in the world and attending a show like this is just awesome. Technology everywhere. While I really only focus on a small part of Canon’s portfolio, it’s a treat to see everything they do under one roof.

The event officially started with a ceremonial ribbon cutting in front of a large crowd that was brimming with excitement. After a brief speech, they cut the ribbon and we were off. Upon entering the floor, which was probably the most amazing I’ve seen by any single vendor in the print industry, I began recording my initial walk through. Seriously, watch the video, I couldn’t possibly do this set justice in a written description.

I started on a tour of the production print area but there was so much commotion and so many people crowding around to see some of the new technology, such as the imagePRESS C10000VP that I veered off and did my own thing.

After spending a while in production, I made my way over to the Enterprise area which also included SMB products and workflow solutions. It was a bit confusing as there was no signage indicating these products were also targeted at SMB but after a quick chat with Brad (see video below), I had a better understanding of the layout.

After the overview with Brad and the interactive display showing the floor layout, I then walked through what I would call the office print area, which you can see here. The floor was set up in different layouts. Some were small shops, remote offices, collaboration technology and more.

I took tons of photos of the event that you can see by clicking THIS LINK.

There were two machines (MFPs) that weren’t labeled and were clearly future product. One had a REALLY nice touch screen. For a prototype, the responsiveness of that screen was as good if not better than any of the user interfaces I’ve been using to date. It was instant – no lag. Pretty good for a prototype.

I have to say I was disappointed that there wasn’t a more concerted effort to give us a real overview of what the print group has been up to. A missed opportunity if you ask me. After that quick tour, which was really difficult to hear, we were pretty much left on our own. I always value the ability to walk a floor on my own but I do appreciate the vendor’s overviews, discussions on strategy, future product discussion, etc. I did have a great and informative meeting with senior CUSA executives Dennis Amorosano and Tom O’Neill and that was very helpful.

That said, the floor would have just blown you away. I can’t imagine how much they spent on this elaborate showcase and it’s been amazing to see this show grow each time I’ve attended. This was my fourth EXPO (I’ve been doing this over 20 years???).

Wide Format has always been a huge opportunity for Canon. They’re arguably the leader and in my opinion have the largest and most robust portfolio, spanning a range of devices from inexpensive entry level to massive machines that cost well over six figures. Who else has that? No one, that’s who. This is a result of the marriage of Canon’s imagePROGRAF program, long viewed as one of the best graphic arts product lines with Canon Solutions’ products (formerly Oce).

The images coming of these things are stunning but what really blew me away was their layered printing. It’s not exactly 3-D printing, but it kind of is. I touched on this earlier in the year when I attended the Canon Solutions event in Miami. The printers essentially layer ink on top of ink until it piles up, forming the pattern the user wants to print. Check out the photos to see the kinds of things they were printing. Woven designs that look like thatched wicker, emulated layered wood. I tried to take the pictures at angles so you could see but they don’t do it justice. Maybe I should’ve used a Canon camera!

Production was another area of the floor where Canon really made a statement. Big iron was everywhere and it was surrounded by what I’d call art exhibits made from the devices as pictured below.

A lot of what I learned was actually from that meeting with Dennis and Tom. I asked about their A4 strategy. Like most A3 competitors, Canon was late to the market with a competitive A4 line. They’ve quietly filled that in that hole over the last couple of years and they’re confident these products will sway many dealers back that had found other sources for A4 (Samsung, Lexmark, OKI, etc.). According to Dennis they’re already seeing dealers start coming back to them for these MFPs and printers.

Canon’s print group has quietly recovered from the loss of IKON several years ago. And they never seemed to miss a beat, consistently ranking as a top vendor in the print world (always one or two depending on whose data you reference and how you splice it). The integration of Oce went much smoother than many analysts expected and Canon is taking down some significant clients, recently taking Notre Dame from the big X among others.

The first evening concluded with a key note from Fujio Mitarai, Canon’s legendary CEO. Mr. Mitarai used to work in the US before heading back several years ago to take the reigns. He misses the Yankees and pizza. He discussed where Canon started, where they are now and where the future will take them. Investments in medical imaging, security and other areas have made them leaders in new markets. At 80 years old, I got the feeling this might be his last EXPO but who knows, according the Canon employees, he’s still got a firm grasp on the company, the markets and the technology. At the end of his speech he received a standing ovation.

This showcase was a great reminder of who Canon is and while they’re typically very quiet, it’s nice to seem them cut lose and show us their true capabilities and the level of resources and technology they’re armed with. I saw a lot of great industry people at the event like Jerry Blaine from LDI, several of the boys from Ray Morgan, EFI CEO Guy Gecht, Roger King from EO Johnson and on and on.

The reception and dinner that followed the key note can only be described as opulent. Some nice entertainment, good food and great conversations with Canon and non-Canon people. Thanks Canon for including me in this year’s EXPO, overall it was an amazing event.

~Andy Slawetsky