Epson Unveils PrecisionCore Technology for Industrial Printing (Includes Video)
LONG BEACH, CA—September 24, 2013—Epson global president, Minoru Usui, today announced PrecisonCore (watch video), a next-generation inkjet printing technology poised to transform the printing business, providing the company with an unparalleled level of manufacturing efficiency to expand into high-potential new global markets. PrecisionCore builds on Epson’s longstanding reputation for output quality, at the speeds required for industrial and commercial printing. The technology will also be extended into the company’s office printing range.
At a press conference at Labelexpo, a premier label industry exhibition, Usui explained how Epson combined years of technical expertise with recent breakthroughs in piezo material and high-precision MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) manufacturing to create an innovative new print chip. The new PrecisionCore chip delivers commercial-grade performance in a compact, modular form, and enables Epson to scale the technology from single-pass industrial presses to workgroup and desktop printers.
PrecisionCore is the only volume-produced printing technology that spans such a wide range of inks and marking materials. PrecisionCore technology extends Epson’s high-performance thin-film piezo print technology, currently used in its market-leading commercial large-format printers, to deliver customers flexible industrial and business printing solutions with superior color, print quality, and output durability on the widest range of media for everything from business documents, photography and signage, to commercial labels, packaging, and textiles.
“PrecisionCore represents a leap forward in printing performance,” said Usui. “We continue to deliver outstanding quality thanks to superior dot control, and have introduced a new system to ensure reliability. At the same time, scalability allows us to fully leverage our historical strengths of ink flexibility and printhead durability.”
Epson’s unique integrated production cycle—from the piezo printhead to the finished printing device—provides a highly efficient manufacturing process to address a full range of digital printing opportunities with the scale, quality and cost effectiveness only possible through MEMS chip production.
“For the first time, one printing technology offers the performance and scalability to fundamentally change how business approaches printing,” noted Keith Kratzberg, senior vice president, Epson America. “While today’s industrial printing announcements from Epson showcase the power of PrecisionCore in the prime label and packaging industry, the technology will soon extend to a full range of PrecisionCore-based products designed for today’s office printing environments.”
In conjunction with the PrecisionCore announcement today, Epson is demonstrating several new products incorporating the technology at Labelexpo in Hall 9, Stand 9H50, from Sept. 24-27 in Brussels, Belgium. The products tap into PrecisionCore’s ability to power innovations and include a number of firsts. The L-6034VW is Epson’s first single-pass industrial press, the first to use Epson’s new PrecisionCore linehead technology, and the first to use Epson’s new LED-cured UV ink with inline digital varnish technology. Available in two models—CMYK with digital varnish and high-opacity White ink (SurePress L-6034VW), and without white ink (SurePress L-6034V), the compact digital label press delivers precise quality with maximum reliability, flexibility and performance. The company is also demonstrating its first SureColor F2000 direct-to-garment printer.
“The SurePress L-6034VW joins Epson’s current SurePress L-4033A/AW and puts Epson in the unique position to offer two very different digital label press solutions with two different ink sets—aqueous for short-run labels, especially on uncoated and textured paper, and now UV for short- to mid-run labels on a wider range of substrates,” explained Mark Elsbernd, North American region sales manager, Epson America. “Prime label and packaging converters now have two options to best suit their client portfolios, enabling them to compete effectively for profitable, high-value business while managing costs.”
Epson PrecisionCore Linehead Technology
The new PrecisionCore linehead is the key component behind the high performance, high reliability, low maintenance, and low running costs of the SurePress L-6034VW. Each of the six lineheads in the press comprises 11 PrecisionCore print chip modules (totaling 52,800 nozzles) that deliver precise quality with fine, multi-size dot control and high native resolution. The linehead is designed to work with Epson’s new low-energy LED-cured UV ink and inline digital varnish technology to deliver the best combination of 600x600 dpi quality at up to 49.2 feet per minute with vibrant color, smooth gradations and ultra-fine text, lines and images.
Epson LED-Cured UV Ink and In-Line Digital Varnish Technology
Developed and manufactured by Epson, the SurePress L-6034VW leverages an advanced, all-new UV ink technology to deliver a level of quality for UV ink printing previously unattainable for digital label presses in this price range. The press produces high-quality, short- to mid-run labels with outstanding durability on standard film and paper label substrates between 3.15˝ to 13˝ wide up to 0.013˝ (0.32 mm) thick. In addition, it enables printing onto heat-sensitive substrates, such as polyethylene (PE), maximizing the range of materials that can be used, and the curing process uses long-life LED lamps for lower energy consumption.
The SurePress L-6034VW gives users the flexibility to print high-opacity White ink first or last to boost image impact on clear and metallic substrates, and to expand the variety of labels that can be produced. The press also includes an innovative digital varnish feature that enables users to save time and cost by applying matte, gloss or a combination of both in patterned or selective spot varnish effects during printing to achieve a range of finishes. This can be done on the same label or vary from label to label in the same print run.
Unrivaled Reliability and Production Time
Epson has incorporated sophisticated automatic monitoring, maintenance and cleaning features within the SurePress L-6034VW. Unique to Epson, Nozzle State Analysis technology automatically senses if a nozzle is not firing and rapidly cleans and recovers it, which minimizes downtime, ink waste and ensures reliable and continuous printing.
Key Features
The Epson SurePress L-6034V/VW is designed for label converters investing in a digital label press for the first time or looking to expand their production facilities with a reliable, easy-to-use press that will produce high quality, durable labels all day, every day with minimal downtime. Additional features include:
- Inline Corona treater and additional UV curing unit
- Easily accessible unwinder/rewinder with high-accuracy web guide
- High-capacity ink system using 3 liter ink cartridges
- Automated system enabling efficient use without the need for excessive resources or trainings
Availability
The Epson SurePress L-6034VW and L-6034V will be shipping in summer 2014.
About Epson
Epson is a global innovation leader whose product lineup ranges from inkjet printers and printing systems, 3LCD projectors and industrial robots to sensors and other microdevices. Dedicated to exceeding the vision of its customers worldwide, Epson delivers customer value based on compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies in markets spanning enterprise and the home to
commerce and industry.
Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 68,000 employees in 96 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates. Epson America, based in Long Beach, CA, is Epson’s regional headquarters for the United States, Canada and Latin America.
Source: Epson.
