Canon UK Press Release 31/08/04

Canon’s latest industry first

The 1-picolitre PIXMA iP5000

Canon, a leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces the futuristic-looking PIXMA iP5000 - the PIXMA personal photo printer that awards Canon two industry firsts: an astonishing 1-picolitre droplet size and 9600 x 2400 dpi resolution. The clean lines and lustrous jet black shell of the iP5000 make a clear departure from traditional ‘beige box’ design, reflecting the growing importance of ‘look and feel’ in consumer products.

The 25 ppm iP5000 plugs directly into most contemporary digital cameras and digital video cameras via a PictBridge port for direct photo printing. Five-ink ContrastPLUS technology produces high contrast glossy photo prints with a quality that rivals that of photo labs and a full 4” x 6” borderless photo prints in just 36 seconds.

“Canon revolutionised the printer market in 1981 when it introduced the world’s first Bubble Jet printer, the BJ-80, with a droplet size in excess of 100-picolitres” said Malcolm Hills, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging in the UK and Ireland. “By combining the first 1-picolitre drop size with comparison-defying style at a time when digital photography is exploding, Canon has set another defining moment in printing technology.”

Professional personal photo lab
In a special process called FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering), Canon has adapted its own silicon chip manufacturing technology to create print heads with tolerance and precision similar to that of integrated circuits. The FINE print head in the iP5000, which features Micro-Nozzles, is capable of ejecting a staggering 27 million (theoretical figure) microscopic droplets per second with unrivalled consistency and accuracy.

“To get an idea of scale, if you placed a 1-picolitre droplet every millimetre along a straight line, you would get 24 times around the circumference of the Earth before you had used up a litre,” said Hills. “Tolerances achievable with the FINE manufacturing process are simply out of reach for competitors relying on print heads assembled from multiple parts.”

Document printing uses a pigment-based black ink to deliver crisp laser-quality text, while ContrastPLUS uses an additional dye-based black to deliver higher contrast for high quality, professional photo prints.

The vendor independent PictBridge standard is supported for direct cable connection photo printing with any compatible digital camera or camcorder, without the need for a PC.

Borderless photos can be printed in credit card, 4? x 6?, 5? x 7? and A4 formats.

Powerful software completes the printers? photolab capabilities ? Easy-PhotoPrint and Photo Record give the user a fast route to creating individual prints, albums and more.

Blistering speed
The incredible FINE nozzle density that delivers the world’s smallest droplets also provides for blistering speeds for both business documents and photos. The iP5000 can produce 25 ppm mono and 17 ppm colour, while a full colour A4 document takes just 26 seconds.

Single Ink technology
The iP5000 features Canon?s acclaimed transparent single ink system, whereby each ink is stored in an individually replaceable tank. To minimize waste, only the ink that is exhausted needs to be replaced. A pop up window on their computer warns users when a particular colour is running low and the printer will not start printing a page if there is insufficient ink to finish.

Versatile installation
One of the key design objectives of PIXMA is to maximise flexibility of location. As well as being furnished with a style and finish appropriate for the home environment, PIXMA printers are the only devices on the market that include both the traditional ‘J’ pass paper path and a ‘U’ turn path, allowing the printer to be stored and operated on a shelf or in other areas where space is at a premium. Dual paper trays, auto duplex printing and CD-R/DVD printing functions are now completely integrated without compromising the printer?s clean lines ? a first in printer design.

New photo media
Canon?s new media extends the creative and practical applications of the iP5000:
? Double sided photo paper (Photo Paper Plus Double Sided PP-101D) in A4 and 5? x 7? sizes. As well as standard packs, this media is available as a kit (Photo Album Kit PAK-101) which includes a high quality hardback album cover to make photo albums, scrapbooks and personal books.
? Credit card size glossy media (Glossy Photo Paper GP-401) - ideal for printing wallet photographs and name cards.
? Photo stickers (Photo Stickers PS-101) - sheets of 16 small photo stickers, for fun and practical purposes.

Quality software for quality prints
The iP5000 is bundled with the following software:
Easy-PhotoPrint provides three easy steps to printing photos. Assisting with options such as media selection and scaling, it includes Face Sharpening for out-of-focus face correction, Red Eye Correction and Digital Face Smoothing to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
Easy-WebPrint sits on the Explorer toolbar and takes the frustration out of web page printing, saving time, ink and paper by correctly scaling output to print one-page-per-sheet, preventing the common problem of the right-hand side of web pages being cut off.
Canon PhotoRecord guides users through printing a personalised photo album, including assistance with printing on Canon’s new double-sided media.

The iP5000 is compatible with Win98/Me/2000/XP and Macintosh OS 9.x and OSX v10.2.1 or later systems.

Pricing, availability and reader enquiries
The PIXMA iP5000 will be available from October 2004 for around ?169 inc. VAT / EUR 244 inc. VAT.

Read the Specifications (PDF)