Canon opened a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for water-based, polymer inks at its site in Venlo, expanding its capacity to serve customers using its high-volume inkjet production presses. The 1,500 square metre facility has been developed within an existing building shell and equipped with advanced ink manufacturing systems and high levels of automation to ensure consistent CMYK ink quality while minimising waste. The operation employs 30 staff, combining redeployed employees with new hires.

The investment follows Canon’s continued growth in production inkjet. The company was named the market leader in EMEA for continuous-feed and sheet-fed heavy-production inkjet by Infosource and Keypoint Intelligence, driven by adoption of platforms such as ColorStream, ProStream, and the varioPRINT iX-series. These presses have gained traction among commercial printers and online providers for their offset-like quality, reliable throughput, and flexibility across applications including direct mail, transactional print, books, catalogues, and magazines.

To support this expanding installed base and increasing print volumes, Canon scaled its in-house ink production by bringing the new Venlo facility online. Rob Puts, Vice President Manufacturing and Logistics at Canon Production Printing, said the water-based polymer inks were developed internally and first validated through Canon’s R&D operations before broader market rollout. He noted that the new plant has been designed to support both current demand and future growth across Canon’s inkjet portfolio.

According to Canon, the facility underpins its ability to deliver high-quality consumables at scale while supporting customer expansion. By aligning ink manufacturing capacity with the growth of its production inkjet platforms, the company aims to ensure long-term supply reliability and consistent performance for customers investing in high-volume digital print production.