Canon’s flagship 12-ink printer delayed by Thai floods

October 26, 2011

Canon’s new Pixma Pro-1 inkjet printer may face launch delays after heavy flooding in Thailand closed two production plants.

The Pro-1 was announced this week and was due to be launched at the Canon Pro Solutions show in London today and tomorrow. However, Techrader reports that Canon will be delaying the launch due to continuing problems in Thailand.

As previously reported, two of Canon’s printer manufacturing plants were forced to halt production last week after being cut off by the rising waters, with one of the facilities being flooded out.  One of the facilities is reported to have been producing the main body for the printers.

Canon has reportedly dispatched a “recovery task force” to speed up the efforts, but it is currently unknown how long the plants will remain closed. Canon and many other OEMs have also donated funds to the Red Cross to help the rest of the country recover.

The delayed Pro-1 is to act as a flagship model for the Pixma photoprinter range, and Canon boasts that it is the only A3 machine to use a 12-ink system. The 12 separate 36ml ink cartridges are said to greatly expand the colour gamut, as well as bringing more range to monochrome prints.

The Pro-1 also features a new Optimum Image Generating (OIG) feature which assesses the level and combination of inks needed to produce the highest quality print.

It is unknown how long delays will last, but Canon hopes to have sales units of the Pixma Pro-1 ready by the end of the year.

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