Tag: Sign Shop Equipment

High-volume sign shops producing car wraps, outdoor banners, or custom wallpaper all have one thing in common. They’re all dealing with the challenge of creating durable, scratch-resistant prints that can withstand real-world abuse. 

The Canon Colorado M3W was built specifically to solve this problem.

At Steven Enterprises, we have tested many large-format printers, but the Canon Colorado M3W stands out for one reason. Durability.

It’s built for businesses that demand durability without compromise. This isn’t for small shops with occasional jobs—it’s a true industrial workhorse made for high-volume production.

Here’s our honest assessment of what the Canon Colorado M3W delivers, where it excels, and whether it’s the right investment for your operation.

What Makes the Canon Colorado M3W Different?

The Canon Colorado M3W is a large format UVgel printer capable of producing a wide range of applications with high quality and durability. The “W” in the model name stands for white ink capability, which differentiates it from other Colorado machines and opens up entirely new application possibilities.

The printer uses Canon’s UVgel technology, which offers excellent color and dimensional stability, resulting in sharp, accurate prints. 

This technology is what sets the M3W apart from traditional solvent or latex printers, it creates prints that are instantly dry, scratch-resistant, and built to last.

Key Features of the Canon Colorado M3W That Matter for Your Business

The Colorado M3W introduces several standout features that differentiate it in the market:

UVgel Technology

Canon’s UVgel technology powers the entire Colorado series.
Unlike solvent or latex, it uses gel-based UV-curable ink that sets on contact. UV LED lamps then cure the ink, delivering fast, durable, and vibrant prints without delay.

This provides instant drying (no waiting for outgassing), and results in robust, scratch-resistant prints with superior quality. 

UVgel prints have excellent color vibrancy and consistency, with precise dot placement and almost no dot gain or bleeding. 

The cured ink forms a smooth, thin layer that is flexible and won’t crack – Canon now specifies up to 185% stretchability for UVgel 460 inks, which is crucial for applications like vehicle wraps. 

Additionally, UVgel’s low curing temperature means you can print on heat-sensitive materials (like thin films or vinyl) without warping. 

White Ink

White ink is notoriously tricky in the printing world, often prone to clogging or settling in the lines. 

Canon tackled this by developing a white UVgel ink that is “the same as the CMYK” in terms of how it behaves. It circulates in the system to prevent settling, and the printer has automated maintenance routines to keep the nozzles firing (so you don’t need daily manual purges). 

As a result, Canon markets it as “White ink without worry,” allowing customers to use white ink hassle-free with spectacular results. 

In practice, having white ink expands your capabilities: you can print opaque white underlays on clear window film, make white text or graphics on colored media, or do multi-layer prints (e.g., color-white-color for backlit applications). 

FLXfinish+

FLXfinish+ lets you switch between a glossy finish and a matte finish on the fly, without needing to change inks or add a varnish. 

By adjusting the LED curing process, the printer can make the same ink either cure flat (matte) or shiny (gloss). 

You can even have mixed matte and gloss elements in one print for creative effects. 

For example, you could print a wallpaper with a matte background but gloss-highlighted text or logos, all in one pass. This “spot UV” look is achieved without an extra print step or coating. 

It’s a great way to differentiate prints and add value – something usually not possible on traditional solvent or latex machines. 

Impressive Media Versatility

The Colorado M3W handles an extremely wide range of media. 

The UVgel ink’s immediate curing means it doesn’t bleed on porous media and doesn’t distort thin materials. 

For companies that produce diverse products (wall murals one day, vehicle wraps the next, then decals or posters), having one printer that can handle all these applications is incredibly efficient. 

The Colorado’s output is also certified for indoor use – it has various environmental certifications (GREENGUARD Gold, AgBB, etc.) ensuring the prints are safe for hospitals, schools, or homes.

This is crucial for wall coverings and retail signage. Clients in these spaces expect odorless, low-emission prints for indoor environments.

Real-World Feedback from the Colorado M3W 

Partition Graphics (UK)

This company invested in a Colorado M3W to replace multiple older eco-solvent printers. Their managing director reports “The Colorado M3W is excellent for all our applications – from printing sophisticated fade effects and white ink on optically clear film to producing high quality wallcoverings, graphics, and vinyls. It really does everything we need.”

Overall, their experience shows the M3W delivering on its promises of quality, versatility, and productivity.

808Wraps (Hawaii, USA) 

808Wraps took on the challenge of wrapping a Tesla Cybertruck using the Colorado’s UVgel prints. They found that the vibrancy and durability of the prints were outstanding – critical for vehicle wraps which face sun, rain, and abrasion. “The prints are highly resistant to scratching and abrasion, and they withstood UV exposure, maintaining vibrancy even in Hawaii’s intense sunlight,” said the company’s CEO. 

The Colorado’s rapid output also helped them meet tight deadlines for high-volume projects, which is a huge factor in the vehicle wrap business where downtime = lost revenue. 

Moreover, because UVgel prints are dry and have stable dimensions, installers appreciate that panels align consistently edge to edge (no shrinkage), which is important when wrapping large vehicles or doing panelled wall murals. 

Canon has even gotten a 3M MCS warranty on UVgel wraps, meaning 3M backs the durability of wraps printed on the Colorado when using their approved materials.

Online Forum Feedback

In industry forums (such as Reddit and Signs101), early adopters have also shared candid opinions. 

One common theme is that the Colorado is an investment best suited for high volume usage – “you need to run a fair amount of material to make use of it. [It’s] good color stability. [But] expensive.”

In other words, this printer shines in a production environment where it’s running many hours a day; small shops with only occasional large-format jobs might find it hard to justify the cost. 

Owners often highlight the printer’s color consistency and cost savings. The Colorado delivers reliable output, thanks to UVgel chemistry and automation. This consistency reduces print waste significantly.

And several users note that ink consumption per square foot is low – one user happily reported “the inks are cost effective” even while running large volumes of adhesive vinyl prints.

Some forum members compared the Colorado M3W with HP Latex printers (which are another popular choice for indoor/outdoor graphics and also offer white ink on certain models). 

One person pointed out that the Colorado’s modular upgrade path is a big advantage – “unlike the HP, if you grow out of the M3 and want the M3W or the M5W, you just pay for the add-ons. That’s a lot cheaper than going from a Latex 700W to an 800W, etc.”

Who Stands to Gain the Most from the Canon Colorado M3W?

The Canon Colorado M3W is specifically built for:

• Large Sign & Graphics Shops.

  If your shop produces a high volume of banners, retail signage, posters, window graphics, and trade show displays, the Colorado M3W was made for you. It can handle day-to-day sign printing at high speed, maintaining consistent color across long runs (important for big brand jobs). For instance, you could print dozens of retail posters or outdoor banners in a single shift and they’d all come out uniform and immediately ready to hem or grommet.

• Vehicle Wrap & Fleet Graphics Producers.

  Car wraps, bus wraps, fleet decals, etc., benefit from the ink’s strong adhesion and color vibrancy. The prints stretch cleanly over rivets and curves and resist damage, even during vigorous repositioning and squeegeeing.

Vehicle and fleet branding companies can print wraps quickly and maintain consistent color from panel to panel with ease.

Fleet graphics in particular often require reliable repeatability – if you’re wrapping 10 vans with the same design, the first and tenth should look identical; the Colorado’s automation and stable output help ensure that.

• Wallpaper & Wallcovering Manufacturers.

  Custom wallpapers and wallcoverings are growing in popularity, and the Colorado M3W meets this demand extremely well. It prints on PVC-free wallpaper, self-adhesive vinyl, canvas, and more—producing detailed, color-stable murals for interior spaces.

• Point-of-Purchase Displays & Backlits.

  The retail POP market often demands premium quality and sometimes unique media like backlit films or clings. The M3W’s high resolution and color gamut deliver sharp, eye-catching point-of-purchase graphics that can elevate in-store displays. White ink lets you print double-layer graphics on clear film for vibrant lightboxes or window clings with impact.

• Print Farms and Trade Print Suppliers.

  The Colorado M3W suits wholesale printers and print farms that need high output, reliability, and easy job management. The reliability and self-maintenance mean you can line up multiple jobs and let the machine go. With an efficient workflow, you could replace multiple slower printers with a single Colorado, reducing floor space and operator oversight.

The Bottom Line: Is the Canon Colorado M3W Right for You?

Of course, “honest review” means acknowledging the considerations: the Colorado M3W is a significant investment.

The Colorado M3W is not aimed at small sign shops or hobbyist use. Its price point and size only make sense if you have a steady stream of work. 

However, if you’re a small shop doing occasional projects or primarily indoor applications, the M3W might be overkill. 

The investment makes sense if you need features like scratch resistance, white ink, mixed finishes, and industrial durability.

For a closer look at this printer in action, you can watch this Canon’s official Colorado M-series Printer Virtual Demo.

Ready to Evaluate the Canon Colorado M3W?

Whether the Canon Colorado M3W is the right choice for you depends on your volume, application mix, and quality requirements.

Our team can assess if the M3W fits your needs and explain how it integrates into your workflow.

Call 800-491-8785 or fill out our contact form to speak with an expert about the Canon Colorado M3W today.