What does the word “printer” bring to mind? Inkjet printers for home use that create beautiful photographs? Or perhaps office-use printers that make use of so-called electro-photographic printing? Canon has long been an industry leader for such printers through the high image quality that Canon technology achieves. There are, however, other segments in which printers play active roles.

For example, there are high-speed printers capable of printing 1,000 pages per minute. There are wide-format printers that can print on film for outdoor signage. The world of printers is even expanding into the industrial printing domain.

Aiming to realize the No.1 position worldwide in all core businesses, in 2010 Canon welcomed Océ N.V. of the Netherlands into the Canon Group. With its broad portfolio of cutsheet, continuous-feed and wide-format printers, Océ is an innovator in digital document management and delivery. To date, Canon has produced its own electro-photographic printers and wide-format inkjet printers for industrial use, gaining a reputation for their durability and reliability.

Amid today's increasing globalization and digitization, the compelling combination of Canon and Océ aims to create the global leader in the printing industry by capitalizing on a complementary fit in product mix, channel mix, R&D and business lines, thereby offering customers the products and service they demand and deserve.

Furthermore, Océ's competitive leadership in R&D plays an important role in Canon's management goal of achieving “globalized diversification” through the establishment of R&D centers in three regions — Japan, the U.S. and Europe.

Synergy with partners will become even more important for Canon to create value in the future.