The Canon PIXMA MP450 is announced today. The Canon MP450 is an all in one printer, scanner and copier that can print 10 x 15cm borderless print in approx. 55 seconds. The MP450 offers a 4.7 cm colour LCD screen for printing without a computer and has a 1200 x 2400 dpi high resolution flatbed scanner. Price and availability of the Canon PIXMA MP450 to be announced.

Canon Europe Press Release

Canon’s PIXMA multifunctional offers unparalleled connectivity

Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 22 August 2005: Canon, a leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces the launch of its new direct photolab multifunctional, the high-speed 4800 x 1200 dpi, 2 picolitre PIXMA MP450.

Capable of printing a photolab quality 10 x 15cm borderless print in approx. 55 seconds, the designer 3-In-One print/scan/copy device offers direct photo printing via a range of sources: from popular memory cards , PictBridge compliant digital cameras and digital video camera, or mobile phones using the built-in IrDA ports or optional Bluetooth adaptor. A 4.7 cm colour LCD display is included for image preview and selection when printing without the computer.

Featuring Canon’s FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) print technology, the MP450 uses 2 picolitre2 ink droplets for photolab quality prints. The sleek device also incorporates:
- Full colour 1200 x 2400 dpi high resolution flatbed scanner
- Fast document copying: 22cpm mono and 17cpm colour

For long lasting fade-resistant prints, the MP450 features the new ChromaLife100 system. When used in conjunction with Canon media, ChromaLife100 produces prints that resist fading for 100 years when stored in an album. Prints exposed unframed to the effects of the air resist fading for 10 years if printed on Photo Paper Pro (PR-101).

Photolab speed and quality
“In the growing photo print market, people are placing increasing importance on speed and print quality,” said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “The ability to achieve speed and quality simultaneously is the key competitive advantage of Canon’s FINE technology.”

Canon’s patented FINE semi-conductor manufacturing technique creates print heads with exceptionally high nozzle density and 10mm diameter Micro-Nozzles. FINE print heads get more ink on the page in less time than is possible with conventional ink jet technologies, delivering fast, borderless photos up to A4 size.

FINE also achieves photolab quality by delivering millions of microscopic droplets each second with unrivalled consistency and accuracy. FINE also delivers super fast, high quality document printing
A USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface eliminates data transfer bottlenecks to keep performance at maximum capacity.

Enhanced stand-alone photo printing
For prints without the PC, the MP450 offers direct photo printing with PictBridge compatible digital cameras and digital video cameras, from popular memory cards, or mobile phones. Photo Index Sheets (automatically generated tick-the-box memory card summary pages) simplify photo and media selection when direct printing. The generous 4.7cm colour LCD affords easy preview and control of images, while built-in image enhancement functions allow correction of photographs without resorting to the PC. These functions include face brightener, red eye removal, image optimiser and colour adjust effects.

Quality that lasts
For improved fade resistance, the printer supports Canon’s new ChromaLife100: a system of genuine Canon dye-based inks, which deliver exceptionally broad colour gamut, and specialised photo paper designed to work together with FINE print heads. This technology ‘triangle’ of nozzle design, ink and media produces prints that rival silver halide quality and longevity. Prints resist fading for 100 years when album-stored, 30 years when displayed under glass and 10 years when exposed to the effects of the air4.

Fast, borderless copying
The high Micro-Nozzle density responsible for the fast print speeds also translates directly to 22cpm mono and 17cpm colour copy speeds. The MP450 features borderless copying, fit-to-page copying, and AE (Automatic Exposure) copying – documents are pre-scanned to identify various text, photo and background zones appearing on each page of the original, to ensure optimal results.

Borderless copies and prints are possible in A4, 13 x 18cm , 10 x 15cm and credit card size formats.

Powerful, high quality scanning
Canon optical design expertise provides high quality scans at 1200 x 2400 dpi resolution. For optimum results, multiple areas in a single file can be selected and scanned with different settings. A range of image correction features are included, including fading correction, reduction of dust and scratches, grain correction, unsharp mask and descreen, which reduces moiré effect.
A range of time-saving scanning features is included, such as Multi Scan, which can scan up to 10 photos as multiple single images at a time, and automatically corrects tilted images. Scan to PDF creates PDFs from original documents without use of conversion software. PDF file pages are easily ordered and can be readily added to previously created PDF files with MP Navigator. Featuring automatic OCR (Optical Character Recognition), text is embedded into the PDF file for convenient searching.

Matching media
Canon’s competitive advantage in printer hardware technology is fully realised when genuine Canon photo grade media and inks are used. The diverse and growing range of Canon media – including the new affordable Glossy Photo Paper Everyday Use (GP-501) – is developed specifically to work in combination with Canon’s FINE ink jet print technology. Photo papers and media are available in a wide range of sizes (from credit card to A4), formats (including mini stickers) and finishes (from matt to semi-gloss to super-high gloss). They include double-sided photo paper (PP-101D 13 x 18cm and PP-101D A4) and the flagship Photo Paper Pro (PR-101) for the highest grade, ultimate durability professional results.

Software
Included with the MP450 is a comprehensive software suite:
- MP Navigator 2.0 – helps users get immediate optimum results with minimum fuss. Users simply select the required process and desired output. Version 2.0 features: improved PDF functionality; improved zoom window for scanned images; additional buttons and controls for greater usability; and options to scan from colour magazines or film.
- Easy-PhotoPrint – provides three easy steps to printing photos, assisting with media selection, scaling and photo effects.
- Easy-WebPrint (Windows only) – sits on the Internet Explorer toolbar to simplify web page printing.
- ScanSoft OmniPage SE – Optical Character Recognition application that converts scanned text into characters for editing or storage as a searchable text file.
- Arcsoft PhotoStudio - image-editing program featuring automatic colour and tone enhancement, cloning, animated 3D text and over 40 special effects.

The MP450 is compatible with Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, and Mac OSX v10.2.4 or later.

1 Ink droplets can be placed with a minimum pitch of 1/4800 inch (maximum printing resolution).
2 Minimum droplet size.
3 Including: CompactFlash®, Microdrive™, Sony Memory Stick®, Memory Stick ProTM, SmartMedia™, Secure Digital, and Multimedia card. Also xD-Picture card, Memory Stick DUO, Memory Stick DUO Pro and miniSD card, which require an optional adapter.
4 All figures are estimates based on accelerated tests and are not guaranteed. 100 year figure applies to PR-101, PP-101, SG-101, GP-401, GP-501 media, images stored behind plastic cover sheet. 30 year figure applies to PR-101 and PP-101 media, 10 year figure to PR-101 only. Lightfastness and gasfastness figures assume a typical indoor environment avoiding direct sunlight.