Canon Colorado roll-to-roll printers are used by many print service providers for wallcoverings, posters, indoor signage and display graphics. This page is Landor’s own practical guidance on adding Colourjet or liquid lamination to Colorado output. It is not produced, approved or endorsed by Canon, and you should always follow Canon’s own documentation for the printer and inks.
What is different about UVgel
Colorado printers use Canon’s UVgel technology. In general terms, the ink is designed to gel as it lands on the media, which holds the dot in place, and is then cured by UV light. That makes it a UV-curable ink rather than a solvent, latex or aqueous one, and the prints are dry and cured as they leave the printer. Much of our guidance on UV-curable inks therefore applies.
Depending on the print settings used, Colorado output may have a flatter or glossier appearance. That is worth noting before you coat, because a coating sets its own finish over whatever the printer produced.
Points to check
- Adhesion. Cured UV ink films can be relatively hard and smooth, which some coatings find harder to grip. A tape test on a cured, coated strip is the quickest check.
- Finish matching. If the printed matt or gloss appearance is part of the brief, choose a coating finish that matches it, or the print’s own finish will be lost. See choosing a finish.
- The media. Colorado output goes onto a wide range of papers, wallcoverings, vinyls and films. Some of these react to solvents on their own, regardless of the ink, so test on the exact stock.
- Flexibility. Wallcoverings and rolled posters are handled, hung and sometimes trimmed after coating. Fold and roll a coated sample to check for cracking.
Why coat at all?
Cured prints already resist light handling well. A coating is mainly worth considering where the job faces more than that: scrubbable wallcoverings in commercial interiors, hospitality or healthcare spaces, graphics in busy corridors, or pieces that need additional UV inhibitors for long display near windows. For wallcovering projects, our wallpaper media page covers the substrate side.
Application
Colorado printers are production machines, and coating by hand can quickly become the bottleneck. A liquid lamination machine keeps up better and gives a more even film over long wallcovering runs. Whatever the method, coat clean, dust-free prints and let the coating dry fully before rolling.
If you print on a Colorado and want to see how a coating behaves on your usual media, send us a few printed strips or call 01252 624 411. We will tell you what we would test and why.