MELVILLE, N.Y., Feb. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the introduction of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE Series in 2009, the message behind their mission has been clear: help customers advance their business and business opportunities through the use of reliable, security feature capable, customizable office print and scan solutions. Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to announce that Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI) has recognized a number of devices in the imageRUNNER ADVANCE Series of multifunction systems (MFPs) with various industry honors, including the esteemed 2017 A3 Line of the Year and two Winter "Pick" Awards.

The A3 Line of the Year Award is bestowed annually to the vendor whose product line is determined by BLI to be the best overall in its category that excel in BLI's rigorous two-month laboratory evaluations. This is the second consecutive year Canon has received this distinction. Selections for "Pick" awards are made by BLI's staff of technicians and editors after subjecting a number of devices from every major original equipment manufacturer to BLI's comprehensive lab tests in the last six months.

"Indicating a vendor's ability to provide product lines that deliver outstanding test results, the award for A3 Line of the Year is BLI's most highly sought after distinction. For another year, this award validates Canon's strong A3 market reputation for offering reliable, easily adaptable systems that can enhance existing workflows," said George Mikolay, senior product editor, A3 Copiers/MFPs, Keypoint Intelligence. "The introduction of the third generation of imageRUNNER ADVANCE MFPs was a pivotal moment for Canon, and as this generation of MFPs continues to grow, so does Canon's ability to offer fully integrated and holistic business solutions."

"For the second year, Canon is honored that BLI has recognized the imageRUNNER ADVANCE Series with the Award for A3 Line of the Year," said Toyotsugu Kuwamura, executive vice president and general manager, Business Imaging Solutions Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc. "With the 2017 expansion of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE Series, this year's models will build upon the firm foundation of reliability created by their dependable third generation counterparts. Delivering consistent, print and scan fleet solutions demanded by today's businesses, Canon is proud to offer our customers a cohesive, secure and customizable user experience aimed at reducing IT management burdens and helping to balance the needs of the enterprise and the individualized workflow expectations of the modern worker."

2017 A3 Line of the Year: Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE MFPs
Geared towards advancing business, in eight short years the imageRUNNER ADVANCE line has evolved to include additional security features, provide enhanced personalization, more control for administrators and powerful integration with optional uniFLOW and Therefore(TM) solutions to deliver end-to-end business process solutions. Announced as the user-friendly platform of the future, the third generation of imageRUNNER ADVANCE MFPs demonstrates Canon's commitment to embrace a unified approach across hardware and software solutions in order to help enterprise environments optimize their digital workplace transformation and help meet the expectations of flexibility, customization and convenience in the office demanded by today's changing workforce.

Additional BLI Winter 2017 'Pick' awards in the A3 Category Include:


    --  imageRUNNER ADVANCE C5535i MFP - Outstanding 31-to-40 pages-per-minute
        (ppm) A3 Color MFP
    --  imageRUNNER ADVANCE C5550i MFP - Outstanding 41-50 pages-per-minute
        (ppm) A3 Color MFP

Offering advanced personalization, along with a convergence of imaging technology and support for cloud connectivity and various mobile solutions, these models are well-suited for small-to-mid-size organizations and departments within enterprises. Providing high-quality output, powerful performance, outstanding ease-of-use and virtually seamless integration with many Canon and other third party workflow solutions, these award-winning models are positioned to be at the core of an organization's digital business communications.

For more information about Canon U.S.A., visit www.usa.canon.com.

About Buyers Laboratory LLC
Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI) is the world's leading independent provider of analytical information and services to the digital imaging and document management industry. For over 50 years, buyers have relied on BLI to help them differentiate products' strengths and weaknesses and make the best purchasing decisions, while industry sales, marketing and product professionals have turned to BLI for insightful competitive intelligence and valued guidance on product development, competitive positioning and sales channel and marketing support. Using BLI's web-based bliQ and Solutions Center services, 40,000 professionals worldwide create extensive side-by-side comparisons of hardware and software solutions for over 15,000 products globally, including comprehensive specifications and the performance results and ratings from BLI's unparalleled Lab, Solutions and Environmental Test Reports, the result of months of hands-on evaluation in its US and UK labs. The services, also available via mobile devices, include a comprehensive library of BLI's test reports, an image gallery, hard to find manufacturers' literature and valuable tools for configuring products, calculating total cost of ownership (TCO) and annual power usage. BLI also offers consulting and private, for-hire testing services that help manufacturers develop and market better products and consumables. For more information on Buyers Laboratory LLC, please call 973-797-2100, visit www.buyerslab.com, or e-mail info@buyerslab.com.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets. With approximately $29 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), ranks third overall in U.S. patents granted in 2016** and is one of Fortune Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies in 2016. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. In 2014, the Canon Americas Headquarters secured LEED® Gold certification, a recognition for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of high-performance green buildings. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss and follow us on Twitter @CanonUSA. For media inquiries, please contact pr@cusa.canon.com.

**Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Availability, prices and specifications are subject to change without notice.

BLI is a business partner of Canon U.S.A., Inc.

All referenced product names, and other marks, are trademarks of their respective owners.

(1) Separate purchase is necessary for these solutions.

Canon U.S.A. website:
http://www.usa.canon.com

For sales information/customer support:
1-800-OK-CANON

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SOURCE Canon U.S.A., Inc.