Canon Summit 2023 Returns for Encore Performance in Nashville

By Bob Neubauer

Following up on the success of its May dealer summit in Las Vegas, Canon U.S.A. held a second Canon Summit in Nashville this week, welcoming 325 dealer representatives from around the country. They spent three days attending in-depth educational sessions and learning about Canon solutions at a Technology Showcase, with Nashville’s vibrant music scene providing a lively soundtrack.

In his opening address on the stage of the Country Music Hall of Fame Theater, Mason Olds, EVP of Canon U.S.A.’s Business Information Communications Group, revealed that company net sales were more than $30.3 billion in FY2022, with $9.3 billion of that generated in the Americas. Worldwide net income was $1.8 billion, he said, adding that Canon’s profits were higher than its top three competitors combined.

From the stage of the Country Music Hall of Fame Theater, Mason Olds, EVP of Canon U.S.A.’s Business Information Communications Group, revealed that Canon’s FY2022 profits were higher than its top three competitors combined.

Among its competitors in the production segment, he said, Canon is No. 1 with 32% of the market. This position has been bolstered by impressive sales of the Canon imagePRESS V family, which sold 1,000 units in less than a year.

Though Canon’s wide-format revenue placed it in the No. 2 spot behind HP, Olds considered that a challenge.

“If I were HP, I’d be a little nervous,” he told the crowd. “We’re coming after them on the wide-format side.”

Scenes from Canon Summit 2023 in Nashville.

The summit divided dealer attendees into four tracks for breakout sessions focused on production, service, solutions, and sales. The sessions immersed dealers into the inner workings of the Canon technologies they are selling, offering them the opportunity to ask questions and get tips so they can better serve and sell to their customers.

Numerous Canon production printers were set up on the premises, including all three members of the imagePRESS V family: the V1000, V900, and V1350. Attendees were shown the many features and enhancements on these presses. Improvements in media support, image quality, speed control, double-feed detection, and more were detailed. They saw how new spectroscopic sensors can detect color tone and how a flattened paper path lets the devices handle heavier sheets.

Attendees were enamored with the Whiz Commercial Robot Vacuum, which scooted around the exhibit area like a mini R2D2.

The Technology Showcase featured more than a dozen Canon business units, showing dealers additional Canon products they can start offering. These ran the gamut from familiar devices like the Colorado M series of wide-format printers and the Canon imagePRESS V family, to Canon security, eService, and cloud offerings, such as PRISMA Home, the Canon cloud platform that provides access to all PRISMA cloud-based applications and tools. A dye-based label printer, the LX-D5500 was on display as was the PosterArtist free online design software. There was even a robot: the Whiz Commercial Robot Vacuum, which scooted around the exhibit area like a mini R2D2.

Overall, the dealers in attendance at Canon Summit 2023 were enthusiastic about the sessions they attended and the camaraderie they experienced by meeting other dealers from around the country. The conversations continued long after the dinner reception in the Country Music Hall of Fame, spilling onto the streets of Lower Broadway, where the sound of music from countless bands filled the night air.

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Bob Neubauer Author's page

Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 170 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.