Melville, NY—Canon USA is now offering the FlatSpread FS-500 film hinge processor for its DreamLabo 5000 inkjet production photo printer. The new post-press machine, which creates a “FlatSpread” lay-flat photo book, was on display at WPPI Expo in Las Vegas, March 11–13, in the Canon booth (# 421).
Lay-flat photo books, in the premium photo book market, allow for a professional look, such as a two-page, single-image or panoramic spread. The FS-500 will eliminate the need for exclusive, pre-hinged sheets, or mounting photos onto backing boards, helping to reduce material and labor costs, and providing more affordable lay-flat options.
Launched in 2012, the Canon DreamLabo 5000 is targeted at the retail photo printing and high-end print-on-demand (POD) markets. Its integration of FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) printhead technology is designed to provide high photo and text quality. The printer offers an alternative to traditional silver halide processing technology, coupling its strengths with the advantages of inkjet printing.
The DreamLabo 5000 photo printer features the ability to automatically produce full-bleed, double-sided prints in a single pass in a variety of paper sizes and finishes, which is especially ideal for premium photo book production.
The new FlatSpread photo book is produced by binding DreamLabo 5000 double-sided prints (Canon double-sided glossy and double-sided luster papers) with an attached flexible film hinge. When completed and bound, the photo book will have widely flat and visible pages when open. Double-sided prints will permit the addition of many pages within the photo book, yet the book remains slim.
FS-500 users can control the page-flatness of lay-flat photo books by optimizing the width of the hinge slit within 0.02 to 0.08 inch. Photo book sizes can be produced in a variety of sizes, ranging from 5×5 inches up to 12×18 inches. The FS-500 can process an A4 (8.27×11.69 inches) size sheet in approximately 14 seconds and includes a standard automatic sheet feeder with a 100-sheet capacity. usa.canon.com
