Canon Solutions America announced this week that its printers won three Specialty Graphic & Imaging Association (SGIA) awards. Three of Canon’s Oce Arizona series printers received the SGIA’s product of the year award. According to Canon this is the eighth year in a row that an Oce Arizona printer has been awarded product of the year by the SGIA and the second year in a row that three Oce Arizona printers have won SGIA product of the year awards.

In the less than $200,000 manufacturer’s suggested retail price category both the Oce Arizona 318 GL, UV Flatbed and the Oce Arizona 318 GL, UV Flatbed Plus White won the award. In the greater than $200,000 manufacturer’s suggested retail price category the Oce Arizona 6170 XTS won the award.

Canon’s Oce Arizona series of UV flatbed printers are designed to produce high-volume large-format display graphics on rigid surfaces. Canon began selling Oce Arizona series printers in 2007.

The Oce Arizona 6170 XTS debuted at this year’s Federation of European Screen Printers Associations (FESPA) event in Munich, Germany. The device features an eight foot by ten foot vacuum table, two printing zones for simultaneous printing, and can print braille.

The product of the year awards were awarded at this year’s SGIA Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards are based on output from printing devices that is compared by a panel of judges made up of digital printing and imaging experts. The criteria used for judging the printers includes image detail, tonality, and color appeal. Canon’s output for the event was printed using its own print production solutions software, which is based on Adobe’s PDF Print Engine.

“Canon Solutions America’s booth was a great source of cutting-edge technology and information that provided an interesting look into where the company sees the industry going,” said Richard Romano, senior analyst for printing market research website WhatTheyThink.com. “Booth visitors got to see high-quality equipment in action producing high-value print products, while gaining insight into all the other services and solutions that Canon Solutions America offers.”