London, UK, 7th April 2010 – Canon today announces the launch of its new, enhanced after-sales support system for professional photographers and videographers, the Canon Professional Services (CPS) programme. The CPS system offers professional users of Canon products exclusive, free access to a range of benefits, from CPS support teams at many international and local events, to a priority repair service and direct support from Canon Professional Representatives in selected  European countries *.

Redesigned following extensive consultation with the CPS community, the new CPS will offer more reliable support and information to qualifying professional photographers and videographers across Europe. The re-launched CPS introduces multiple levels of membership, allowing a greater number of professional photographers to qualify for the benefits of CPS support.

Kieran Magee, Director of Professional Products Marketing, Canon Europe commented, “We are committed to offering the best possible after-sales service and support and, with this in mind, we have taken a careful look at Canon Professional Services and redesigned it to offer more tailored support to our customers. We are sure that the CPS community will appreciate the enhanced accessibility and assistance offered by the improved CPS membership structure and we look forward to offering this level of service to a wider range of professional Canon customers.”

Become a member of the new CPS programme
The CPS system offers three types of membership to professional photographers, depending on the qualifying ** equipment registered with the scheme.

• Silver membership is available to photographers who register two bodies and three qualifying lenses. Repairs to CPS-serviced equipment will also be turned around in five working days.
• Gold membership is available to those who register two qualifying bodies and three qualifying lenses. Repairs to CPS-serviced equipment will be turned around in three working days with a free back-up loan service should this be exceeded.
• Professional photographers with a wider array of Canon equipment can qualify for Platinum membership after registering three qualifying bodes and four lenses. Benefits of this membership include a two-day turnaround for repairs to CPS-serviced equipment and free back-up equipment loans.

Videographers registering one qualifying** camcorder will also benefit from specialist support and priority repairs with a maximum six-day delay and free back-up loan service should this be exceeded.

New CPS members can register their Canon equipment easily through www.canon-europe.com/cps from 7th April onwards. The appropriate level of membership will be automatically assigned depending on the number of qualifying bodies and lenses registered with CPS.

Existing CPS community members are invited to validate and update their details through the CPS website in order to ensure the correct CPS membership has been registered. All existing, unvalidated memberships will expire in June 2010. After this, a new registration will be required and new cards will be issued.

*European countries that currently offer the CPS program are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
**For a full list of qualifying Canon products, please consult: www.canon-europe.com/cps