M Partners has signed a reseller agreement with Canon, which gives it an 'open book' on Canon's 17 – 60" (0.4 – 1.5m) imagePrograf (iPF) range. The move comes as the company looks to extend into the proofing, CAD, photographic and small-format signage markets via its newly-launched M Partners Wide division.

"Canon products offer us interesting opportunities with printers who are seeking an effective proofing solution," believes Murray Lock, joint managing director of M Partners Wide. "The wide-format solutions from Canon are aimed squarely at this sector and have been developed with printers in mind."

M Partners Wide hopes to back up its enlarged portfolio by offering quality servicing, with a partnership with a service operations partner likely to be announced in the new year.

"We have brought in technical in-house expertise to improve our servicing offering, but we don't want our engineers flying around the country," explains Lock. "We've looked at what others in the industry are doing and decided that a partnership with a national service company would serve our customers best."

M Partners hopes to boost sales of Canon's wide-format equipment with its three- or five-year finance package, delivered via Clear Asset Finance, and the appointment of a workflow and proofing expert, to be announced in early 2014.