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Epson's 50 Years of Innovation
Published Aug 12, 2014
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Epson is celebrating fifty years since the company brought miniaturised printing to the world for the first time at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The printing timer became the first electronic recording system in the Olympics, changing the course of history. Twenty-five years later, Epson’s 3LCD technology revolutionised the projector market, delivering vibrant and clear images to the most demanding audiences, and turning Epson into the world’s leader in projection, a position it has held since 2001.
Epson prides itself in being a global technology innovator. This has been recognised in the shape of the many awards the company has received. Epson was acknowledged at the Thomson Reuters 2013 Top 100 Global Innovator Awards in Japan. Other awards include the IEEE Corporate Innovation Recognition Award, numerous EISA and TIPA awards for imaging products, and the BLI Pick of the Year 2014 for the WorkForce DS-860. In Japan, Epson holds more patents than anyone else in the categories for printers, inkjet technology, projectors, OLED and E-Paper[2].
Khalil El-Dalu, General Manager, Epson Middle East, says: “We are very proud of our heritage and reputation for leading the way in global innovation. We strive to make Epson’s products better, by investing in research and development so that we can create technologies to provide our customers with unique value. Our commitment is to bring into being something that no one imagined would exist, that answers a fundamental need that has not been met and represents a significant step forward in our customers’ lives.”
Epson has a proud history of firsts, bringing to life key unique technologies that have played a significant role in shaping the world we live in today. These firsts are based on Epson’s three core technologies: printing, projection and sensing.
In the printing market, the printing timer was followed by the launch of the EP-101 in 1968, the world’s first and smallest digital printer that gave the company its name. In 1994, the company introduced the first high-resolution colour inkjet printer – the Epson Stylus Colour – making high-resolution printing in the home possible for the first time. Most recently, product innovations using PrecisionCore, Epson’s most advanced microelectronic printhead technology, have built on Epson’s longstanding reputation for output quality, at the speeds required for industrial and commercial printing. A complete new range of WorkForce printers using PrecisionCore were launched in March 2014, including the innovative WorkForce Pro RIPS (Replaceable Ink Pack System) range that can deliver uninterrupted printing for up to 75,000 pages. The recent launch of EcoTank, the first printer with integrated high-capacity refillable ink tanks, provides a complete new printing system, eliminating the need of replacing cartridges and providing ultra low-cost printing.
For 25 years, Epson’s 3LCD technology has been used in its projectors. It delivers an equally high White and Colour Light Output (CLO) with up to three times brighter colours than 1-chip DLP projectors with similar quoted lumens[3]. It was in 1989 when the VPJ-700, Epson’s first compact, full-colour, liquid crystal video projector brought LCD technology to life, providing brighter clearer projected images. This innovative technology helped to create ‘the presentation culture’ that has become essential in business today. Besides, Epson´s complete range of interactive projectors has proven to be ideal for education environments, allowing teachers and students to make the most of the learning experience.
With sensing as a third pillar technology, Epson’s commitment towards innovation has lead the company to make a step towards new growing markets, developing a complete range of wearable technologies. This involved the launch of its second edition of smart glasses, the Moverio BT-200 available since June, that unlock the potential of augmented reality. Also the new Runsense GPS sports monitors and Pulsense heart rate activity monitors aim to revolutionise activity monitoring providing a new approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle, fitness and well-being and will be launched in September in selected markets.
As for the future, Epson is already developing industrial, multi-material 3D printers. President Minoru Usui said: "Our aim is to create 3D printers that can help to revolutionise the manufacturing and production site. This means creating parts using metals with micron accuracy. We want our machines to make anything.” It will take time to improve the technology and materials, and Mr. Usui expects Epson will launch its first industrial 3D printer within five years.
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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