Epson Reveals Its Production and Industrial Print Strategy for drupa

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—Feb. 28, 2012—Confirming its commitment to the commercial print industry, Epson has announced its “Engineered for Print” strategy and its significant new lineup of digital products and technologies for production and industrial print applications.

The “Engineered for Print” strategy represents Epson’s focus on developing unique products and technologies for customers in the signage, label, photo, and textile markets, with goals of doubling its product lineup in the next few years and quadrupling revenue from industrial printing.

During drupa 2012, the company will be showcasing its next-generation SurePress “X” label press, which incorporates new single-pass micro piezo line head technology, and which will also be the first Epson product to utilize UV ink.

Furthermore, the company has announced its move into the digital dry lab sector, detailing its forthcoming SureLab SL-D3000, for high quality, on-demand photo and card printing, which will be demonstrated for the first time at drupa. Other developments on display at drupa will include next-generation aqueous and dye ink sets to support the range of new products.

When commenting on Epson’s vision for production and industrial printing, Minoru Usui, president of Seiko Epson and micro piezo pioneer, said, “We are confident that our commitment to delivering customer value through unique solutions and outstanding support will help us expand in production and industrial printing. In the next few years, my goal is to double revenue from large format printers, and increase revenue from industrial printing by four times.

“This will be a very big year for us. In fact, I see it as the starting point for the next stage of Epson’s growth.”

drupa 2012 highlights

Epson’s considerable investment into micro piezo and ink technology is driving the company’s development of a rapidly expanding range of professional-level digital solutions for all forms of media. At drupa, Epson will demonstrate products, inks and substrates for design and prepress, large-format signage and label printing applications. Highlights include:

Label converting

Epson has placed a significant focus on developing a range of products to suit the specific requirements of label converters.

For the first time, Epson will demonstrate a completely new line head technology based on Epson’s latest Thin Film Piezo printheads. The new technology will be incorporated into a next-generation press—code named SurePress “X”—and will be the first Epson product to use LED-curable UV ink.

The SurePress “X” is designed to deliver rapid printing of both short and mid-run labels and will be compatible with a variety of both paper and film substrates.

POS & signage

Building on the success of the Epson GS6000, the 4-color SureColor SC-S30600 will also be shown, delivering impressive flexibility for multiple POS, display, signage and décor applications. The new printer features the latest Epson TFP Micro Piezo printhead and uses Epson’s new UltraChrome GS2 ink-set. At €13,995 it has the lowest price of any printer in its class and the lowest energy consumption – up to seven times lower when compared to the alternative major competitive printing technology.

Commercial photo printing

The new six-color Epson SureLab SL-D3000 is an easy-to-use digital dry lab for high quality photo prints and cards up to A3 size. It features Epson printheads, new Epson UltraChrome D6 dye ink and image processing technology, and is ideal for on-demand print services in traditional minilab retail environments. Due to its ability to print on to matte surfaces, the SureLab SL-D3000 also offers significant business opportunities for traditional print shop owners, searching for new business possibilities. The SureLab is available in two configurations and will be commercially available from August.

Textile printing

Epson’s drive to play a prominent role in the digital textile printing industry is reinforced by the company’s announcement that it has become a 50 percent shareholder in ForTex, a leader in the development of digital textile inks and chemicals (see associated release for more details).

Design & prepress

The latest models in the market-leading range of 24-64 inch width aqueous inkjet Epson Stylus Pro printers will demonstrate their considerable flexibility for prepress and in-house agency proofing, short-run display and package prototyping applications.

New ink technology

Epson has just launched the next generation of odorless and nickel-free UltraChrome GS2 Ink for use in the new SureColor printer for signage applications. As an expansion to its aqueous UltraChrome inks, Epson has leveraged its expertise in fine art and professional printing to develop UltraChrome D6, a unique, six-color dye ink system for the Surelab digital dry lab. Finally, for the label convertor market, Epson will demonstrate its first UV ink for printing to uncoated paper and film label substrates during drupa.

“Engineered for Print” principles

Epson’s new production print products and initiatives have been developed in response to feedback from the industry. They form part of Epson’s ‘Engineered for Print’ strategy, in which it commits to offer:
Performance: highly productive products with key features to help print businesses become more efficient
Economy: products that are economical in their use of paper, energy and consumables
Ecology: environmentally-conscious products
Choice: a wide variety of products, consumables and services, engineered specifically for print businesses

Epson is committed to the long term development of precision imaging technologies. Its established Stylus Pro printer range for photography, fine art and proofing applications has built a 65 percent market share worldwide.

About Epson
Epson is a global imaging and innovation leader that is dedicated to exceeding the vision of customers worldwide through its compact, energy-saving, high-precision technologies, with a product line-up ranging from printers and 3LCD projectors for business and the home, to electronic and crystal devices. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 78,000 employees in 99 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates.

Source: Epson.