Epson invests in growth with Surecolor launch

"We are optimistic of a 20-25 per cent growth this fiscal," said Epson India, deputy general manager, consumer product group, S M Ramprasad told PrintWeek India during an exclusive briefing at their corporate headquarters.

Ramprasad stated that Epson has a 33.8% value share in the inkjet print market in India. And the company's revenues stood at Rs 703 crore in 2012-13 fiscal. Of which the consumer product group accounted for 49 per cent of the firm's revenues, business product group contributes 51 per cent.

These three prototypes of printers include: the 64-inch SureColor SC-S wide-format printers; the 44-inch SureColor SC-T printer; and two SureColor SC-F dye-sublimation printers (44- and 64-inch).

One of the Surecolor launches is the B Series - B6070/B7070. This printer offers low cost large-format prints for indoor signage and graphics, CAD drawings and architectural designs. The B6070, the 44-inch wide-format printer can achieve speeds of up to 30.6sq/m per hour while the B7070 gives a throughput of 28.6sq/m per hour at high quality. The heart of this machine comprises of the latest Epson's variable-sized droplet micro piezo thin film technology which has 720 nozzles placed for each four-colour to print at 720 dpi in a single pass helping to attain a resolution as high as 720 x 1440dpi.

Then there is the Surecolor SC S Series which, according to Ramprasad, has been constructed to produce prints onto media ranging from posters, signs, banners, backlit panels and POS to interior decorations and exhibition displays. The machine can print onto a wide range of coated or uncoated solvent media, including adhesive based vinyl, canvas, clear film, photographic paper.

Ramprasad said, "The Surecolor consists of variable print heads up to two which uses the Epson's micro piezo thin film technology to transfer ink to the substrate. The Ultrachrome GS2 ink incorporated in the print head provides an eco-friendly eco-solvent ink meant to triple the print durability to up to three years. The Ultrachrome GS2 ink provides a wide colour gamut of up to 10 colours with cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) plus light cyan, light magenta, light black, orange, (configurable) white, metallic silver. The machine can hold inks of up to 700ml capacity per colour."

The Surecolor T-series can print on media up to a width of 44inches and is aimed at fulfilling the needs of the CAD market for a wide variety of indoor and outdoor commercial applications. According to Ramprasad, "The T-Series printers gives a seven colour (cyan, magenta, yellow, photo black and matte black) boost to the prints with the Epson UltraChrome XD Ink - an extremely durable ink formulation that is not only water resistant but also lightfast, rub resistant and smudge resistant.

A variety of high-impact, high-quality and durable POS, signage, and wallpaper graphics can be printed by three 64-inch SureColor SC-S printer models, offering a choice of productivities and from four to 10 colours, including white and metallic. Ramprasad said, "These SureColor printers demonstrate cost-effective, high-speed productivity printing onto a range of materials, including vinyl, window film and recyclable stock."

Over the last 18 months, Epson has launched eight new-generation large format SureColor inkjet printers designed to deliver maximum quality, productivity, flexibility and low total cost of ownership.