Canon 2008 Annual Report Download - page 36

3
4
PRODUCT GROUPS
Masa
ki N
a
k
ao
k
a
C
hief Executive, Offi ce Ima
g
in
g
Products Operations
“
Canon wi
ll
re
l
ease new
p
ro
d
uct
l
ineu
p
s t
h
at
offer highly advanced platforms in offi ce imaging.”
O
FFI
C
E IMA
G
IN
G
PR
O
DU
C
T
S
Canon’s O
ffi
ce Ima
g
in
g
Products busi-
ness comprises four main cate
g
ories:
o
ffi
ce
n
et
w
o
rk m
u
l
t
if
u
n
ct
i
o
n
de
vi
ces
(
MFDs
)
, MFDs for SOHOs, document
solutions and commercial
p
rinters
.
In offi ce network MFDs, market
demand was sluggish in 2008 owing to
economic uncertaint
y
. Nevertheless,
Canon en
j
o
y
ed increased unit sales o
f
co
l
or mo
d
e
l
s, particu
l
ar
ly
in t
h
e
l
ow-en
d
ran
g
e. T
h
e SOHO mar
k
et remaine
d
steady overall, but sales of high-end
mo
d
e
l
s
d
ec
l
ine
d
. In
d
ocument so
l
utions,
the Company strengthened its proposal
-
style solutions that use its MEAP, which
enables the customization o
f
MFDs
and the development o
f
third-part
y
app
l
ications. Numerous app
l
ications
b
ase
d
on this
p
latform have been released,
i
ncluding smart card authentication for
b
usiness security. In commercia
l
printers,
s
hipments of the highly acclaimed
i
magePRESS C7000VP were strong
amidst
f
avorable market conditions
.
Canon has
f
urther stren
g
thened its
d
irect sales structure in the United
States
,
w
h
ic
h
h
as seen successive reor-
g
anizations of sales channels in the same
i
ndustry. In Europe, sales of color low-end
models were favorable. In Asia, growth in
e
merging economies propelled unit sales.
In the mature Japanese market, unit sales
rose slightly owing to diligent e
ff
orts to
promote sales,
f
or example, o
f
MFDs to
c
onvenience store c
h
ains. New mar
k
ets in
both
A
s
i
a
a
n
d
L
at
in Am
e
ri
ca
also
r
eco
r
ded
s
trong unit sales, mainly for low-end
m
onoc
h
rome
p
ro
d
ucts.
We will work to release new
p
rod
-
u
cts that offer a new standard in offi ce
i
n
f
ormation handling by incorporating
a
hi
g
hl
y
advanced plat
f
orm. For SOHO
u
se, we will introduce new st
y
lish color
m
o
d
e
l
s. In commercia
l
printers, Canon
w
ill reinforce its lineups b
y
expandin
g
its
m
onoc
h
rome
l
ineup, especia
ll
y me
d
ium-
a
n
d
l
ig
h
t-pro
d
uction mo
d
e
l
s. Furt
h
er-
m
ore, to boost sales in markets hit hard
b
y the global economic crisis, we will
b
olster our sales structures in North
A
merica and Europe.
C
anon
h
as
d
eve
l
ope
d
t
h
e new an
d
unique V-Toner C
l
ear system,
which it introduced with the ima
g
ePRESS C1+ in 2008. The
sy
stem makes possible a visual texture treatment that
g
reatl
y
expan
d
s
d
esign capa
b
i
l
ities. It wor
k
s
b
y app
l
ying c
l
ear toner to
p
aper to control the de
g
ree of
g
lossiness, enablin
g
stunnin
g
effects such as metallic characters, spot matt/
g
loss coatin
g
and
f
lood matt coating. The system also produces watermarks, an
attractive option for customers lookin
g
to increase the securit
y
of their documents. With these features
,
V-Toner Clear allows for
the production o
f
a wide array o
f
innovative printing solutions,
p
rovidin
g
added value for customers
.
Innovative Products and Technolo
gy
—V-T
o
n
e
r
C
l
ea
r
2
7.3
%