2017 for Canon: the main results
At the beginning of the year it is customary to sum up. So we did not stand aside and highlighted the main results of 2017, which we are especially proud of.
Over the past year, we celebrated three important anniversaries for us, the most important of which is the 80th anniversary of the company.
We began to produce photographic equipment in the early 30s, the first years of releasing not more than 10 copies per month. To attract investment through public offerings and expand production, Precision Optical Industry Co. was founded on August 10, 1937. Ltd. And although the title had nothing to do with Canon, but even then the foundation was laid on which one of the world's largest corporations soon grew.
In 1947, the company was renamed, called the Canon Camera Company. And for 70 years the world has known us by this name.
Gradually gaining momentum and expanding, in the mid-50s, the Canon Camera Company entered the world market, and in 1957 opened a subsidiary, Canon Europa, in Geneva. And now, for 60 years, we have been working in the EMEA region (Europe, including Russia, the Middle East and Africa), which accounts for about a third of our revenue worldwide.
Surround television with a presence effect is a frequent attribute of fantastic plots. And recently it has ceased to be beyond reality. On September 21, 2017, our multi-year developments in the field of new type of television received official status. Now they are known as Free Viewpoint Video System. In other words, this is a system of virtual television with the effect of presence. Now this development is focused mainly on the broadcast of sports events.
Its essence lies in the fact that at the stadium along the perimeter a number of video cameras are installed, the image from which is processed using special software and formed into three-dimensional spatial data. Due to this, the viewer himself can choose a point and a viewing angle when viewing. According to our plan, such a system will allow maximum transfer of emotional tension during the game.
To date, Free Viewpoint Video System has no close competitors. Given the speed of technology development, the day is not far off when holographic television will appear with the full effect of presence. But we are glad that we have become pioneers in this direction.
Last year, we presented the updated 3D Machine Vision Recognition Software version 2.0.0. Modern three-dimensional vision systems are widely used in production lines for recognition and selection of unsystematically poured parts. Such developments are most in demand in the electronics industry and automotive production.
The new version of the software in addition to previous abilities allows robots to additionally recognize flat and high-gloss objects. The range of measurement has also expanded, which made it possible to increase the size of the working area and, consequently, the productivity.
So far, three-dimensional machine vision is mainly used in robots serving automated lines. But it is possible that in the future these same developments will be used in personal robots that perform everyday work for a person.
At the beginning of May, at the FESPA 2017 in Hamburg, we held the European premiere of our 64-inch (162 cm) Océ Colorado 1640 roll printer with UVgel printing technology. It applies a completely new principle of ink fixation, which allows it to withstand high accuracy of the drop positioning and good repeatability of images. The ink itself has increased wear resistance.
Today, the Océ Colorado 1640 is the fastest printer in its class with a width of 162 cm. In high-speed mode, its capacity reaches 158 m2 / h, and with high-quality printing - 40 m2 / h. If we compare the cost of printing, taking into account the price and ink consumption, with competitive technologies (latex and eco-solvent), then for Océ Colorado 1640 it is 40% lower.
We will talk about this in more detail in the following articles - stay tuned!
Summing up the year, it is impossible not to recall the updates to office equipment, which almost immediately after the release became bestsellers in the Russian market. First of all, this is a model range of color laser MFP imageRUNNER C3025 / i, which we have already described in previous reviews . Its main advantage is the modularity and the possibility of a phased modernization. By purchasing the base model imageRUNNER C3025, in the future it can be gradually modified to imageRUNNER C3025i or set only those options that are necessary for a particular profile of use.
At the end of November 2017, the sixth, already traditional, international Canon Future Book Forum was held in Poing (Germany), where we discussed the trends in the development of digital book printing and looked for new growth points. And although, contrary to all forecasts, there is still no downturn in print books, in the face of fierce competition, publishers have to change their strategy. The development of digital printing allows you to optimize costs, reduce risks and maximize personalize the product.
At the end of the Forum, we made the main conclusion: today, in publishing, the key element of a successful business is not so much the content, but the most complete identification of customer needs and the maximum approach of the finished product to the end user. For us, this means that it is not enough just to produce good printing equipment. Modern publishing business requires an integrated approach, which includes an automated definition of customer needs, selection and packaging of content, high-quality printing and optimization of logistics costs. And we headed for work precisely in this direction.
And by the end of the year we launched our first official online store in Russia . It presents new photo and video equipment, printers and multifunction devices, there is a huge selection of consumables and accessories. Now, finally, Russian buyers were able to purchase original products directly from the manufacturer.
The year was intense, and all thanks to you, our dear users. Thank you for the feedback, for your ideas and opinions - it helps us move on, find new solutions and make new discoveries. And we hope that in 2018 we will not disappoint you!
80 years on the market
Over the past year, we celebrated three important anniversaries for us, the most important of which is the 80th anniversary of the company.
We began to produce photographic equipment in the early 30s, the first years of releasing not more than 10 copies per month. To attract investment through public offerings and expand production, Precision Optical Industry Co. was founded on August 10, 1937. Ltd. And although the title had nothing to do with Canon, but even then the foundation was laid on which one of the world's largest corporations soon grew.
In 1947, the company was renamed, called the Canon Camera Company. And for 70 years the world has known us by this name.
Gradually gaining momentum and expanding, in the mid-50s, the Canon Camera Company entered the world market, and in 1957 opened a subsidiary, Canon Europa, in Geneva. And now, for 60 years, we have been working in the EMEA region (Europe, including Russia, the Middle East and Africa), which accounts for about a third of our revenue worldwide.
Television of the future
Surround television with a presence effect is a frequent attribute of fantastic plots. And recently it has ceased to be beyond reality. On September 21, 2017, our multi-year developments in the field of new type of television received official status. Now they are known as Free Viewpoint Video System. In other words, this is a system of virtual television with the effect of presence. Now this development is focused mainly on the broadcast of sports events.
Its essence lies in the fact that at the stadium along the perimeter a number of video cameras are installed, the image from which is processed using special software and formed into three-dimensional spatial data. Due to this, the viewer himself can choose a point and a viewing angle when viewing. According to our plan, such a system will allow maximum transfer of emotional tension during the game.
To date, Free Viewpoint Video System has no close competitors. Given the speed of technology development, the day is not far off when holographic television will appear with the full effect of presence. But we are glad that we have become pioneers in this direction.
Optimization of the three-dimensional vision system
Last year, we presented the updated 3D Machine Vision Recognition Software version 2.0.0. Modern three-dimensional vision systems are widely used in production lines for recognition and selection of unsystematically poured parts. Such developments are most in demand in the electronics industry and automotive production.
The new version of the software in addition to previous abilities allows robots to additionally recognize flat and high-gloss objects. The range of measurement has also expanded, which made it possible to increase the size of the working area and, consequently, the productivity.
So far, three-dimensional machine vision is mainly used in robots serving automated lines. But it is possible that in the future these same developments will be used in personal robots that perform everyday work for a person.
New digital printing technology
At the beginning of May, at the FESPA 2017 in Hamburg, we held the European premiere of our 64-inch (162 cm) Océ Colorado 1640 roll printer with UVgel printing technology. It applies a completely new principle of ink fixation, which allows it to withstand high accuracy of the drop positioning and good repeatability of images. The ink itself has increased wear resistance.
Today, the Océ Colorado 1640 is the fastest printer in its class with a width of 162 cm. In high-speed mode, its capacity reaches 158 m2 / h, and with high-quality printing - 40 m2 / h. If we compare the cost of printing, taking into account the price and ink consumption, with competitive technologies (latex and eco-solvent), then for Océ Colorado 1640 it is 40% lower.
We will talk about this in more detail in the following articles - stay tuned!
Bestsellers 2017 among color MFPs
Summing up the year, it is impossible not to recall the updates to office equipment, which almost immediately after the release became bestsellers in the Russian market. First of all, this is a model range of color laser MFP imageRUNNER C3025 / i, which we have already described in previous reviews . Its main advantage is the modularity and the possibility of a phased modernization. By purchasing the base model imageRUNNER C3025, in the future it can be gradually modified to imageRUNNER C3025i or set only those options that are necessary for a particular profile of use.
Determination of new priorities in publishing
At the end of November 2017, the sixth, already traditional, international Canon Future Book Forum was held in Poing (Germany), where we discussed the trends in the development of digital book printing and looked for new growth points. And although, contrary to all forecasts, there is still no downturn in print books, in the face of fierce competition, publishers have to change their strategy. The development of digital printing allows you to optimize costs, reduce risks and maximize personalize the product.
At the end of the Forum, we made the main conclusion: today, in publishing, the key element of a successful business is not so much the content, but the most complete identification of customer needs and the maximum approach of the finished product to the end user. For us, this means that it is not enough just to produce good printing equipment. Modern publishing business requires an integrated approach, which includes an automated definition of customer needs, selection and packaging of content, high-quality printing and optimization of logistics costs. And we headed for work precisely in this direction.
And by the end of the year we launched our first official online store in Russia . It presents new photo and video equipment, printers and multifunction devices, there is a huge selection of consumables and accessories. Now, finally, Russian buyers were able to purchase original products directly from the manufacturer.
The year was intense, and all thanks to you, our dear users. Thank you for the feedback, for your ideas and opinions - it helps us move on, find new solutions and make new discoveries. And we hope that in 2018 we will not disappoint you!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/410501/