Inkjet printer prices are continuing their downward march with Canon offering an A3 model for less than $1000.
The Canon BJC 4550 is designed and priced for home or office and Canon’s Jan Battaerd believes it will be of particular use with CAD applications, desktop publishing or proofing. It is the first Canon inkjet to offer Apple connectivity (via AppleTalk) as well as PC parallel port connectivity, and features auto-switching between the two.
In addition to the A3 model, Canon has announced two A4 inkjets, the BJC 4100 and 4200, retailing at $649 and $699 respectively. The 4200 includes a new colour printing system that Canon calls PhotoRealism. Based around a thinner ink base, it adds four tone levels per pixel (including white) instead of the standard on/off pixel form of other printers. PhotoRealism is also included with the BJC 4550.
Canon has also upgraded the engine of the BJC 610 to produce the 620 model. It prints at double the speed of its predecessor and offers 720 x 720dpi resolution on plain paper.
Battaerd says that the budget model $449 BJC 210, launched earlier this year, is now available in quantity after earlier supply difficulties and that Canon has developed a fluorescent ink option for its injets.
None of the printers offer PostScript printing or emulation.
Canon has also announced two scanners: the Canoscan 300 and 600, offering 300 x 600dpi and 600 x 1200dpi resolutions respectively. These will retail at $1099 and $1399. All prices exclude GST.