New benchmark for photo printing speed?

Geetaj Channana

TOKYO: Canon today announced that it would use print times using FINE

(full-photolithography inkjet nozzle engineering) print technology, to

produce photo lab-quality prints as a new print-speed performance benchmark.

This would be relevant across its new PIXMA desktop and all-in-one photo

printers. Canon launched its latest family of PIXMA printers consisting of

eight PIXMA photo printers and five all-in-ones.

Canon would quote the time in seconds required to print photo-lab quality

4x6" borderless photo quality prints using standard settings and Canon photo

paper. This would be an attempt on Canon's part to deviate from the existing

ppm (pages per minute) industry standard.

Katsuichi Shimizu, chief executive of Canon's Inkjet Products Operations

said, "The photo-print speeds that we've quoted for our PIXMA products will

provide consumers with a reliable estimation of the time required to produce

prints that match the image quality offered by traditional photo labs."

Results produced by the PIXMA printer were very good. A 4x6" print took 35

secs to print in the standard (default) mode and the best quality print took

55 sec. However, Canon was not able to define either the quality of

traditional photo prints or the quality of the 'default' print in dots per

inch.

Canon also introduced the ChromaLife 100 system. ChromaLife100 realises a

technology "triangle" combining print head nozzle design, ink and print

media, making possible the creation of photo prints that rival the image

quality and colorfastness of conventional film prints.

Using this triangle, it is trying to make photographs more fade-resistant.

The new system aims at preserving photographs with the right colors in a

photo album for a 100 years, in a photo frame for 30 years, and without

protection for a decade.