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- Hideaki Nagahara
- Area of development:
Mechanisms
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- Kiyomitsu Kudo
- Area of development:
Inkjet print heads
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- Hideki Takayama
- Area of development:
Inks
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- Takeshi Yazawa
- Area of development:
Image processing
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- Tsuyoshi Yamamoto
- Area of development:
Application software
Inkjet printers targeting photographers and photo enthusiasts, even conventional models, realize high performance. The development specifications for the new PIXMA PRO-series lineup, however, far surpassed what other printers could offer. Accordingly, a bold decision was made to develop anew all of the technologies to be incorporated in the new printers, an unusual move in printer development.
New pigment-based and dye-based inks were developed to ensure excellent image quality. Compared with dye-based ink, however, pigment-based ink falls short in terms of luster. To address this, new technology was developed for the PRO-1 and PRO-10 printers that applies a coating of transparent ink on top of the ink droplets. In addition, to improve uniformity and color reproducibility, new methods were adopted to control ink bubbles in real time and select ink.
While efforts were made to increase paper-feed precision in order to improve image quality, the most significant mechanical change targeted the ink-supply system. To reduce the number of times ink tanks needed to be replaced, the PRO-1 was the first printer to employ a tubular system to supply ink from fixed tanks, but the development process was not without complications. Meanwhile, the print configuration software was completely renewed to improve usability.
What was the driving force that enabled all involved to resolve the successive problems they faced during their efforts to develop all-new technologies? The developers all agree that it was a product of collaboration between the various teams. Furthermore, the depth of Canon's unique technical know-how in handling various image input and output devices also proved helpful. Following the market launch of their proud work, they have been closely following the market's acceptance.
- Interview and composition
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- Tadahiro Suda
- Born in Fukushima prefecture in 1955. Became a freelance writer in 1990 after working as an editor at a news service and publisher, and managing an editing production agency. He is active in a wide range of publications, including management information journals and job-transfer publications. In recent years, he has contributed many articles to media portal sites, with the development of technology and products as one of his main areas of focus.
