Melville, New Jersey-based Canon U.S.A. announces that its imagePRESS C850 digital press has been recognized as “Outstanding Color Light Production Device” by Buyers Laboratory LLC, a Fairfield, New Jersey-based independent provider of analytical information and services to the digital imaging and documents management industry.

BLI, which has been around for more than 50 years, hands out its annual PRO awards to acknowledge best-in-class devices in a variety of categories.

Canon says its new imagePRESS C850 incorporates a variety of new features and technologies to help meet the requirements of commercial printers, in-plant operations, franchise printers and other print service providers. While this digital press is new, the imagePRESS product line is actually celebrating its 10th year in production this year.

In judging winners for the PRO awards, BLI’s production tests evaluate productivity, image quality, media handling, ease of use and more.

“We found the image quality of the imagePRESS C850 to be bright, vibrant and consistent over the course of the test,” says Pete Emory, Director of U.S./Asia Research and Lab Services, BLI. “The toner really bonded to the fibers of the paper, so on coated and uncoated stocks, and even with textured paper and envelopes, quality was equally outstanding. And job management was among the best we’ve seen, specifically with the PRISMAsync color print server option. From programming new media types to creating automated workflows, to straightforward in-RIP G7 calibration, as well as the intuitive Job Scheduler that allows for optimum resource planning, key operators will see enhanced productivity throughout the day. On Canon’s Fiery server for this press, which we also tested, the Unity Display gives access to the engine user interface directly from Command WorkStation. Operators will like the ease of access for improved efficiency in their daily operation.”