Commercial printers are being pushed to rethink how their operations are structured around both equipment and outcomes. The pressure to deliver shorter runs, faster turnaround times, and higher-quality output across a wider range of applications has created a new set of demands that traditional production models don’t always address on their own.
At the center of this shift is the growing role of sheetfed inkjet, which is no longer just about speed and volume, but about bridging the gap between flexibility and premium quality. Canon has been deliberate in how it builds out this ecosystem, ensuring that each technology (offset, toner, and inkjet) has a defined and valuable role on the production floor.
Matt Poliniak, Senior Manager of Product Marketing at Canon, shares where the varioPRINT iX1700 fits within that strategy, the real opportunity it creates for commercial printers, and why the future belongs to those who build smarter, more balanced production environments.
What strategic gap in the market were you solving for with this press?
Our focus wasn’t about replacing one technology with another; it was about completing Canon’s modern production ecosystem. Commercial printers today operate in diverse production environments where offset, toner, and inkjet each play important roles. Offset continues to excel in long runs, while digital toner platforms such as our imagePRESS V Family are incredibly effective for short runs, premium applications, and jobs that require high media flexibility.
What we saw emerging in the market was a growing segment of mid-to-longer digital runs with applications that demand incredible quality on a wide range of media sizes and formats. At the same time, seamless integration into modern digital workflows and fast turnaround times remained critical for commercial print providers.
“Printers who adopt a balanced production strategy can leverage the strengths of each technology and can often be well positioned to respond to evolving customer demands for faster turnaround times, personalization, and flexible production capabilities.”
The varioPRINT iX1700 press hits this mark by bridging the space between our imagePRESS V Family and our varioPRINT iX3200 production inkjet press. It effectively fills the gap between tone versatility and high-volume inkjet productivity.
This allows our customers to build a ‘best-fit’ production floor where they can route work to an imagePRESS device for its legendary versatility, while using the varioPRINT iX1700 press to handle higher volumes with remarkable output quality, efficiency and consistency.
Quality has historically been the hurdle for inkjet in premium applications. What specifically enables the iX1700 to compete with offset on coated and textured stocks?
A major focus in the development of the varioPRINT iX1700 press was determining that sheetfed inkjet could meet the quality expectations of commercial printers and brand owners. Historically, inkjet has been associated with productivity, but Canon’s goal was to combine productivity with premium print quality.
What the varioPRINT iX1700 brings to the table is a different way to deliver the “offset look” across a wide variety of uncoated, coated, and specialty stocks that commercial print applications demand.
Through our proprietary Qualinx technology— which includes our thermal print head, aqueous inks, and our ColorGrip conditioning liquid —we’ve engineered a system that is designed to deliver consistent ink placement, vivid color reproduction, and outstanding detail from sheet to sheet.
In addition, integrated drying technologies allow the press to produce brilliant output on a broad range of media, including coated and heavier stocks. The press is designed to provide sharp detail, smooth color gradients, and the tactile feel commercial printers expect from premium print applications.
This gives the press a capability to produce high-quality, tactile output that can generate a strong “wow” response from customers. It expands both the versatility and scalability for our customers, giving them a powerful new way to provide high-value print business.
With B3+ sheet sizes and high production speeds, where are you seeing the greatest growth opportunities for printers adopting this platform?
Canon’s varioPRINT iX1700’s B3+ capability (up to 14.33″ x 26″) can be a gamechanger for printers looking to expand into higher-value applications.
This extended sheet size enables larger, more complex formats—such as six-panel gatefolds, sophisticated direct mail, high-impact marketing collateral, and most importantly light packaging applications.
By removing the constraints of smaller digital sheets and reducing the prepress costs that may be associated with offset, print service providers can confidently migrate this work to an agile, personalized, and responsive digital platform.
The varioPRINT iX1700 press effectively bridges the gap between offset-class quality and digital production flexibility, transforming larger creative formats into highly scalable revenue opportunities.
For a commercial printer evaluating a capital investment, how does the iX1700 change the economics compared to traditional offset or high-end toner?
For a commercial printer evaluating a capital investment, the varioPRINT iX1700 can change the economics of production with technology designed to help lower operating costs while improving overall asset utilization.
Compared with traditional offset, it eliminates plates and reduces makeready and setup waste, which is designed to help reduce labor, materials, and downtime.
Versus high-end toner, the varioPRINT iX1700 delivers a competitive cost per page with reduced service interventions.
Its high-speed inkjet architecture also supports continuous, high-volume production, which is designed to help minimize the stopping and starting that may impact productivity on other platforms.
The varioPRINT iX1700 is a platform that is designed to improve ROI through lower total cost of ownership, high throughput, and great press utilization. By reducing fixed setup costs and increasing productive run time, the varioPRINT iX1700 press is designed to enable print providers to produce outstanding sellable output per shift while maintaining predictable operating expenses.
Looking ahead, do you see sheetfed inkjet becoming a primary production platform — and what happens to printers who delay making the shift?
The future of commercial print production is increasingly multi-technology. Successful printers are building environments where offset, toner, and inkjet each play to their strengths.
Platforms like the varioPRINT iX1700 press are expanding in the role of digital production, particularly for higher-volume applications that benefit from automation, speed, and premium print quality.
Printers who adopt a balanced production strategy can leverage the strengths of each technology and can often be well positioned to respond to evolving customer demands for faster turnaround times, personalization, and flexible production capabilities.
With Canon’s diverse and growing production print portfolio, we have the ability to help customers deploy the right technology for their business today while positioning them to capture emerging opportunities tomorrow.
New boost
