EPSON CELEBRATES 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Print solutions developer Epson is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its foundation, with the company now a significant supplier to the print industry, producing an increasing range of print solutions.

Originally part of the Seiko Corporation, Epson was officially formed in 1975, the name is a combination of the first two characters of the electronic printer (EP-101) that it had launched in 1968, and son, reflecting its hopes that there would be many derivatives, a hope that was realised to an extent it could never have imagined as the company's products became wildly successful.

In 1975 Epson launched the MP-80, a compact and lightweight computer printer. The MP-80 was the first printer to come standard equipped with ESC/P, a printer control language created by Epson that would later become the industry’s de facto standard. Less than a decade later Epson had 75 per cent of the printer market in the US.

Epson’s involvement in the graphic arts market really began in the mid-1990s, with the launch of its digital wide-format inkjet proofing systems, which as part of the holy trinity with the newly invented CTP systems and long perfecting presses, slashed turnaround times and labour costs for print jobs, and were embraced with enthusiasm by printshops across the country, and the world. The Epson digital wide format inkjet printer became the de riguer proofing system.

Today Epson manufactures and supplies a wide portfolio of print systems, including a plethora of sign and display printers, promotional print systems, merchandising print systems, and garment printing systems.

Epson began life in Australia in 1984 with 20 staff, today it has 150. 

The Monna Lisa 160B, a digital textile printing machine was launched in 2003, with an ability to produce a wide variety of products in small quantities, its low waste and small environmental footprint, and its ability to render photographic details on fabrics.  

In 2010, as production shifted toward short-run print jobs, and product life cycles shortened in industries such as food, beverages, and cosmetics, Epson launched the SurePress series of digital label presses, to meet the diverse printing needs of the commercial and industrial sectors.

Launched in 1993, Epson’s Micro Piezo technology has continued to evolve, with Epson developing next generation printhead technology called PrecisionCore, which has made it possible to develop a wide range of products for commercial and industrial applications.

At drupa last year, Epson was exhibiting under its sho sho sei spirit of innovation mantra, which translates as precision, compact and energy saving, and which was manifest in a host of new technologies on its stand.

Those new technologies are based on its new PrecisionCore inkjet head, and run across the board, with a new 64" roll-to-roll printer, a new textile printer, enhancements to its label presses, new desktop printers, and new DTG and DTF printers in the micro products category, as Epson drives to make its technologies available to printshops large and small.