New research from Vodafone Group, Vodacom Group (https://www.Vodacom.com/), Safaricom, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) indicates that the successful deployment and adoption of mobile financial services is associated with a positive impact on GDP growth in developing markets as it helps businesses to reduce cost, access credit to invest, and to connect with consumers that were previously...
For the first time in two decades, the US dollar and the Euro hit parity in July 2022. The currency, shared by 19 European countries, has slumped more than 11 per cent since the beginning of this year.
But the weakened Euro holds great economic significance for businesses as well as individuals, especially those earning and spending in US dollars,...
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) (https://bit.ly/3DaepCh), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, announced today the opening of its new office and state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center in Nairobi. With an increasing demand for high efficiency critical infrastructure in East Africa, this center supports Vertiv’s efforts in offering digital infrastructure solutions to local customers.
The center’s experts offer firsthand knowledge...
The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) (www.AWIEForum.org) has announced Kigali, Rwanda, as the Host City for its 2023 conference and awards.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the Rwanda Convention Bureau during the AWIEF2022 event recently held in Cairo, Egypt on 26 and 27 September.
The AWIEF2023 conference venue has been confirmed as the Kigali International Convention Centre...
SUBTONOMY (https://www.Subtonomy.com/), the leading Network Experience Platform provider in the Nordics, has announced that it will be attending AfricaCom in South Africa (8-10 November 2022) to bring its world-class digital customer support offering to Africa.
The African digital revolution
It’s time to reappraise Africa’s place in the global digital market. Long held back by affordability and availability issues, the advent of...
KCB Bank Kenya has inked a partnership with Mobex (an affiliate company of Terra-Pay Group, a UK-headquartered digital payments infrastructure and solutions provider). The partnership will enable KCB customers to seamlessly receive funds from the diaspora to their accounts in Kenya
With TerraPay onboard, KCB Bank says it is seeking to fortify its position as a key player in strengthening...
Shelter Afrique is developing a Sovereign Lending product to supplement its traditional products that attend to both the demand and supply sides of the housing value chain, the pan-African housing development financier has disclosed.
Speaking in Nairobi, Shelter Afrique Ag. Managing Director Kingsley Muwowo said Africa’s GDP contraction resulting from COVID-19 was an alarming sign of a slump in the...
The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) is engaging county governments to consider ringfencing health budgets and integrating information technology solutions to facilitate operating efficiencies and prompt payments for health commodities supplied by the Authority.
Speaking when she made the Authority's submission to the Nairobi City County Health Reforms Taskforce, KEMSA CEO Terry Ramadhani decried the prompt settlement challenges for...
Launched by The LEGO Foundation, the Build A World of Play Challenge enables organizations that aim to make a positive impact on the youngest children anywhere in the world
Africa’s leading creator and producer of children’s educational media, Ubongo (www.Ubongo.org), is delighted to announce that it has been chosen as one of the 10 finalists in the Build A World...
It's a big, hairy, audacious goal but Huawei is committed to training 1 million ICT professionals over the next two years to help address the global skills shortage
Unpacking the skills deficit
Driving the need for this investment is the increasingly rapid pace of digital transformation worldwide - a trend that chafes against the World Bank's talent deficit forecast of 10...
![Canon (www.Canon-CNA.com) today announces the Colorado XL-series, a new platform of 3.4m printers that extends the proven advantages of Canon's UVgel technology to the 3.2m graphics market. Available in hybrid and roll-to-roll configurations, the modular, field upgradable platform powered by UVgel technology delivers great versatility and exceptional productivity for both flexible and rigid media applications from signage and décor to point of sale and packaging. The Colorado XL-series comprises two easy-to-operate models: the Colorado XL7 roll-to-roll printer and Colorado XL7 hybrid printer. The new series brings the benefits of UVgel to a new market segment with exceptional application versatility across a comprehensive range of media – from banner, paper, vinyl and films to soft signage, heat-sensitive materials, foam board, fluted polypropylene, acrylic, aluminium composite boards and cardboard – providing the flexibility to tackle diverse customer requirements. With print speeds of 70m² per hour in quality mode, 106m² per hour in production mode and up to 211m² per hour in express mode, the system delivers the productivity needed for demanding production environments while accommodating substrates up to 52mm/2 inches thick for rigid applications. The new platform includes multiple technology innovations, such as the UVgel 860 ink set, which has been optimised to cover a wide variety of both rigid and flexible applications. It also provides the proven benefits of UVgel: odourless and instant-dry prints, high mechanical and chemical robustness, dimensional stability due to low-temperature curing, excellent colour consistency, TPO [1] - and VCL [2] -free, and matte and gloss finish without the need of a separate varnish. The Colorado XL-series also incorporates new UVgel 850 PrintHeads. Each printhead has 4,544 nozzles and features automated built-in nozzle performance monitoring and compensation. A single printhead supports two colours simultaneously, so that only two printheads are required to print CMYK, plus an optional third if white is configured. Additionally, the Colorado XL-series has an agile and precise printhead carriage that features UVgel DynamicMotion Control to ensure exceptional print quality even with challenging media. Taking the UV LED curing process to the next level, the Colorado XL-series introduces UVgel FullBeam Curing. This technology uses a unique 3.4-metre-wide LED curing array that, combined with an ingenious mirror system, delivers consistent UV light dosing across the entire print width, guaranteeing exceptional print uniformity over large surfaces and enabling a wider colour gamut. Media handling is optimised by the new UVgel TRIdrive vacuum belt system, which features three interactive rollers and multiple powerful vacuum zones that reduce wrinkling and skewing by automatically detecting and correcting the media positioning. This results in highly repeatable media transport through the printer, ensuring accurate positioning both longitudinally and laterally and enabling razor-sharp applications. Optional features for the Colorado XL-series, which are already available on the highly successful and modular Colorado M-series, include: UVgel White for hassle-free white printing, FLXfinish+ for creative effects using matte or gloss or mixed matte and gloss on the same print without additional varnish, and FLXture for textured finishes that mimic materials like leather, wood or fabric. Mathew Faulkner, Director, Marketing & Innovation, Wide Format Printing Group, Canon EMEA, comments: "For the past decade, Canon has been at the forefront of the inkjet evolution in large format, with market-leading technologies including the Colorado roll-to-roll printer series powered by UVgel technology and the Arizona flatbed printers. Large format print providers are looking for systems that deliver high productivity, versatile applications and reliable quality while addressing the challenge of finding skilled operators – which is why Canon is launching our new, breakthrough Colorado XL-series, an addition to our portfolio that will set a new standard in productivity and versatility. “This innovative solution brings the proven advantages of our unique UVgel technology to the 3.2m market for the first time, combining it with extensive automation and a modular design that will enable customers to extend their application possibilities into markets such as packaging and décor. Print service providers already producing high-value signage and graphics can now leverage UVgel's distinctive finishes, including mixed gloss and matte effects and textured printing, at scale to stand out in these new markets. And with its hybrid capabilities, users can print both roll-to-roll and rigid applications on the same device, using the same ink, the same colour profiles and the same unique features and finishes. For brands, for example, this translates to seamless campaigns that span the full spectrum of applications, ensuring perfect consistency across campaign assets whether they're roll-fed graphics, rigid signage, packaging, or décor elements. This is particularly valuable when these different applications appear side by side in-store, where maintaining that consistent quality and finish elevates the entire brand experience that today's brands demand." The Colorado XL-series will be available from the beginning of 2026 via Canon’s direct sales organisations as well as from accredited partners. For more information about the Colorado XL-series, please visit: https://apo-opa.co/3WltKtM](https://businessinsights.africa/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/canon_prograf-218x150.png "Canon expands large format graphics production portfolio with new 3.4m Colorado XL-series")
