These opportunities have come about thanks to the confirmed compatibility between Canon’s varioPRINT iX ink technology and Scodix PolySense™ 500, the Scodix polymer used for five of its key enhancement applications. Canon’s proprietary water-based pigment varioPRINT iX ink works with its ColorGrip technology to give outstanding, vibrant and robust colour on a variety of media. And as a neutral, unadulterated inkset, it enables downstream compatibilities and lays the perfect foundation for the Scodix PolySense™ 500 based embellishments.

This news could also be of significant benefit to commercial print operations in possession of a Scodix Ultra press and looking to migrate to inkjet technology. By choosing to invest in a varioPRINT iX-series inkjet press, such customers can achieve offset quality output using a vast range of media, high production volumes and minimum set-up time and be confident that the output can still be embellished by their existing Scodix engine without the need for any additional investment.

This compatibility will open up significant product diversification opportunities for varioPRINT iX-series and VarioPrint i-series users. According to Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends, the growth potential for enhanced print is more than twice that of CMYK digital printing and with profit margins ranging from 50% to 400%, the return on investment is quick. Brand marketers also achieve more when using augmented print products, reporting that their targets’ attention is held 18% longer and engaged with consumers 45% faster than print without enhancement.

Both varioPRINT iX-series and VarioPrint i-series users can use any of the Scodix Ultra digital enhancement presses to deliver highly differentiated premium products and make higher profit margins. Taking high-quality process colour output printed on the Canon press and then passing it through the Scodix press, commercial printers can add the following aesthetic dimensions: Scodix Sense™; Scodix Foil™; Scodix Glitter™; Scodix VDE™; and Scodix Cast&Cure™.

Using Scodix Sense, commercial printers can add raised, glossy embossing texture to applications, while Scodix Foil enables them to enhance products with foil without the need for dies and moulds, making the finishing process more cost-effective even for short to medium runs. Add sparkle and texture using Scodix Glitter, giving customers the pattern of glitter without the mess of traditional analogue processes. With Scodix Cast&Cure, users can also create high-impact 3D-holographic even with a brand owner’s unique logo embedded into the hologram.

Personalised applications printed on the Canon press can also be given an edge using Scodix’s Variable Data Enhancement (Scodix VDE™) capability. As brands strive to make their print marketing more impactful and create an emotional connection with their audiences, commercial printers can use this feature to give personalised applications the wow-factor. Using embellishment, they can make a target’s name more prominent on a piece of direct mail, grab someone’s attention with a personalised offer, or simply enhance the look and feel of an individual’s business card. Scodix’s barcode system works as a control and verification tool to give the operator peace of mind and to ensure flawless print alignment.

Hayco van Gaal, Vice President Sales and Service, Commercial Printing EMEA, Canon Europe, comments: “This technological compatibility between the Canon’s varioPRINT iX ink and Scodix PolySense 500 polymer gives commercial printers scope to add value and help brands differentiate their print applications with additional effects. We are constantly on the look-out for ways to enable our customers to inject further creativity into their campaigns, broaden their application portfolio and increase revenue. Using Scodix’s print embellishments, our customers can elevate the value of their products and increase the efficiency of their workflows.”

Speaking about the partnership with Canon, Scodix CEO and Co-founder, Eli Grinberg, says: “We are delighted to learn that Canon varioPRINT iX-series customers can add visual and tactile impact to their applications using one of our Ultra presses. We now have a range to suit any embellishment application or budget. The output generated by Canon’s varioPRINT iX-series using the varioPRINT iX ink technology is the ideal foundation on which to overlay our own PolySense 500 polymer to give commercial print providers products they can charge a premium for and be sure to see a rapid return on their investment.”

Speaking about what Kampert Nauta has been able to achieve thanks to the technological compatibility of Canon’s varioPRINT iX-series ink and Scodix PolySense 500 polymer, Managing Director of Kampert Nauta, Richard Kampert says: “Having been the first commercial and online print operation in the world to invest in the varioPRINT iX-series, we were taken aback by its ability to achieve offset-like print quality on a variety of thicker media, essential for producing greeting cards, which is one of our core applications.  We’ve since invested in a Scodix Ultra press allowing us to streamline our workflow with this additional nearline embellishment potential. With the combination of both presses at our disposal, we’ve been able to decrease our turnaround times, produce smaller print runs more cost effectively, as well as enlarge and enhance our product portfolio. We can now respond quickly to the needs of our customers and produce print products that stand out from the crowd.”

Since its launch in 2015, the VarioPrint i-series has established itself as a leader in sheetfed inkjet production printing for transactional applications, books and high-quality direct mail. It has enabled print businesses across Europe to increase turnaround times, lower running costs and achieving offset print quality. The most recent addition to the range, the varioPRINT iX-series launched in April 2020, can print more than 9000 SRA3 images per hour (or 320 A4 ipm) with outstanding image quality on a wide range of media from 60 to 350gsm, enabling wide application versatility for general commercial printers.