BWI: Canon India bets on New Technology and Range Expansion to Gain Leadership in Printing Industry

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Canon
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 09:27 AM IST (03:57 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Electronic appliances & components, Information technology, Publishing & printing; Technology
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Canon India bets on New Technology and Range Expansion to Gain Leadership in Printing Industry


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, October 07, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- -- Launches 24 new products
-- Expands range to 67 IT peripheral products from its printing division
-- Increases market share of laser printers to 41% and registers growth of over 58% in 2009 for its printer division
-- Introduces the new ISO international standard of "Images Per Minute " for India
-- Deepens foray in the growing surveillance and security space

Canon India Pvt. Limited, India's No 1. Complete Digital Imaging Company today announced the launch of its 24 new products to further accelerate the industry's transformation in terms of product innovation & technology. With this launch, Canon expands its range to 67 IT peripheral products from its printing division and increases its market share of laser printers to 41%. This helped Canon register a growth of over 58% in 2009 for its printer division. The new range unveils new printing and peripheral products with the new ISO standard for effective printing i.e. Images Per Minute (IPM). The pioneering effort in introducing IPM standard in India makes Canon the only manufacturer to be in line with this upcoming trend in printing. With this, Canon will be offering not just High Quality but also High Speed printers. The company also announced its foray in the Security Business with a range of 10 network Surveillance IP Cameras suitable for various security and surveillance applications like monitoring , tracking and recording human movement even in the dark.

The range unveiled today includes 4 Single Format Inkjet Printers, 10 All-in-one Printers, 3 Laser Printers, 5 Projectors, 1 scanner and 1 iP Surveillance Camera. At the launch, Canon also showcased the world's smallest Wi-Fi enabled Auto duplex All-in-one printer MP 568 suitable for Indian homes. Each of the newly launched printers is based on Images Per Minute standard. This new standard has a common set of documents which are commonly used such a pdf, excel and word file with a standard coverage area. This new standard is marks the departure from the earlier measurement of PPM which was manufacturer led and was measured by different vendors with different specifications. This new standard makes it easier for users to choose products according to their printing and copying needs. Canon is the first printer manufacturer in India to comply with the ISO standard for printing. Both "PPM" and "IPM" standards are approved as international standards by ISO. Canon will use "IPM" to describe speeds for ESAT print and ESAT (ADF) copy. The announcement also shared market insights and highlighted emerging opportunities that will structure the growth path for Canon.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kensaku Konishi, President & CEO, Canon India said, "At Canon we always aim to bring fresh concepts and innovative technologies and this product launch is the best mix of both. Canon is introducing 24 new products in the Indian market. With this launch we have also introduced international printing standard IPM recognized by ISO. At the same time, we also see a huge demand for security products in India and being so strong in the imaging business, foraying into the surveillance camera market was an obvious option. We have launched VBC 60 in this space which has the industry highest optical zoom in India. We aim to target 10 per cent market share in this domain by the end of 2010."

Canon India, No.1 in the scanner segment and market leader in laser printers in over 17 cities emerged as the only successful player in times of slowdown. Expanding its offerings Canon initiated new business in the Security products domain with the launch of its network iP Surveillance Camera VBC 500D. With this launch Canon brings its expertise in product technology thereby providing hi-tech surveillance cameras for a robust security infrastructure in India.

Mr. Alok Bharadwaj, Senior Vice President, Canon India remarked, "Propositions to customers have to evolve constantly regardless of business and economic environment. To align with our corporate 'green commitment' and need for cost reduction in printing by businesses, our new products launched today feature auto duplex printing and network capabilities for workgroup and enterprise printing.

We have also noticed a change in lifestyle in Indian homes where increasingly more than 1 person is connecting for printing. People also want to be mobile within homes. To cater to this, we are introducing the world's smallest wi-fi inkjet AIO with auto duplex feature. Today the launch of 24 new products which increases our range to 67 is going to be an engine of our transformation to leadership position. Advanced technology with great affordability is the mantra we have identified for 2010."

He further added, " While the industry declined, we are the only one who have grown at over 58% in the printer division business in 2009. Canon's laser printers enjoy 41% market share in India as on July 2009, which makes it the market leader in 17 cities in India. Laser printers have contributed significantly to the 58% growth of Canon's printer business. The inkjet and all-in-one printers are gaining momentum in the Indian market and we see major markets which are yet not tapped for our printers. Canon spotted growing opportunities in the area of education, power, healthcare, telecom and e-governance for ICT adoptions and tied up with 21 system integrators and created a System Integrator (SI) subdivision with 12 sales people."

Each of the newly launched printers is based on Images Per Minute standard. The ISO/IEC 24734 and 24735 productivity standards indicates "IPM" (images per minute) for print and copy speeds instead of "PPM" (pages per minute). Under the new ISO standards, vendors are encouraged to adopt a common measurement denomination to quote print and copy speed performance.

Canon keeps coming up with newer technologies to meet the needs of its consumers. Some of the key technology highlights of this product launch are as follows:

Duplex Printing: All inkjet, laser and all-in-one printers launched are enabled with Duplex printing feature. This feature is for consumer and low to medium volume office printers which involves duplexing unit that reverses a piece of paper after the first side has been printed. The feature promotes smart use of paper as it allows the users to print both sides of the paper in a single pass. This is in line with the green philosophy of Canon and also helps organizations in saving paper.

Auto Photo Fix II: This feature is built upon the successful previous version Auto Photo Fix. The new Auto Photo Fix II now features Multi-zone Exposure Correction and improved adjustments for automatic red-eye correction, face detection and scene categorization enhancements. Auto Photo Fix II is offered via the bundled Easy PhotoPrint EX application. It is designed for Internet Explorer 7, Easy WebPrint EX features new options when printing from the Internet, with more flexibility. The key features include: Different ways to "clip", or to print only certain sections of a document, Font-size customization and Printing in different page layouts.

FINE: Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) technology with microscopic droplets as small as 2 picoliters. FINE technology supports greatly accelerated printing speeds while elevating quality. It also employs a 5-colour LUCIA pigment ink system which produces higher contrast for more dramatic images, extraordinary, virtually grain-free pictures and one clear ink to produce water fastness prints on plain paper.

On-Demand Fixing Technology: It effectively eliminates the need for warm up time. Assisting this process is the Canon Advanced Printing Technology (CAPT 3.0) and Hi-Smart Compression Architecture (Hi-SCoA). These unique technologies harness the host computer's memory and processing capabilities instead of relying on the printer's built-in memory. The result is exceptionally quick first printouts - 15 seconds for both black and white, and color A4 prints.

At the launch Canon also expands its line of Network Video Solutions products with the addition of VBC 500D for diverse monitoring and security needs. This high performance iP camera is ideal for monitoring wide areas such as shopping malls, offices and tight spaces such as auto teller machines (ATM) and elevator lobbies. This iP camera also has Power over Ethernet (PoE) that allows the use of a single LAN cable connected to a PoE HUB to both power the camera as well as transfer video and audio data.

With the introduction of IPM in India Canon has made a pioneering move in the Printing industry and its fresh range of products widen options for consumers for making the best decision. Canon has been aiming at delighting its customers and with new innovative technologies it aims at delighting you always.

About Canon Inc

With total revenue of about US $ 45 billion in 2008, Canon Inc. is a global leader in photographic and digital imaging solutions. Its global network now employs some more than 165000 people. Five Technology 'imaging' engines of Optical, Electro photography, Bubble Jet, Semiconductor and Display drive Canon's cutting-edge technology products. Canon is the world leader in office automation and digital imaging technologies. The company is dedicated to the advancement in technology and innovation and commits 8% of its total revenue each year to R&D. Canon is ranked 36th on the Best Global Brands for the second consecutive year in Business Week's 100 Best Global Brands 2008 and 189th on the Fortune Global 500 in year 2008. Canon has consistently remained as one of the top 3 companies to have earned the most number of patents over the last decade. Guided by its kyosei philosophy, which focuses on "living and working together for the common good", Canon delivers high performance and user-friendly products and solutions to improve efficiency both in the office and home environment. More information is available on www.canon.com.

Canon's product portfolio extends over a vast variety of photocopiers, multi-functional peripherals, fax-machines, printers, scanners, All-in-ones, digital cameras, camcorders and multi media projectors, cable id printers, semi conductors and card printers.

Canon in India

Canon India Pvt. Ltd. is a 100% subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pvt. Ltd., a world leader in imaging technologies. Set up in 1997, Canon India markets over 140 comprehensive range of sophisticated contemporary digital imaging. The company today has offices in 7 cities, warehouses in 11 cities across India and employs over 700 people. Canon products are available in over 300 towns in India. Overall Canon's presence is expected to increase to 4000 outlets by December 2009.

Canon India closed 2008 with revenue of Rs. 665 crores, which marked 31% growth over 2007. Overall, Canon expects to touch revenue of more than 800 crores in 2009.


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KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, ELECTRONICS, IT, PUBLISHING, TECHNOLOGY

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