MANUFACTURER INFORMATION

In 1993, Epson entered the inkjet printing market with the innovative Epson Stylus 800, and introduced its market changing printhead with Epson Micro Piezo technology, making a permanent technological advancement which remains at the forefront today.  In 1994, Epson introduced the Stylus Pro, the world’s first 720 dpi colour inkjet printer.  In 1998, the Epson Stylus Pro 800 was selected by NASA for the STS-95 mission and Epson introduced the first colour inkjet printer with built-in USB connectivity.  Epson is a global leader dedicated to driving innovations based on compact, energy-saving, and high precision technologies. Epson continues to develop breakthroughs in technology and applications including industrial robots, smart glasses and sensing systems, as well as print, projection and display, building on more than 60 years of innovation of Seiko Epson, which began as a watchmaker.

Epson SureColor SC-P printers incorporate a number of Epson proprietary technologies including Micro Piezo, PrecisionCore, Variable Sized Droplet Technology (VSDT), Exotic Thin Film Piezo (TFP), Low Vibration Meniscus Control, UltraChrome PRO10 ink with violet ink, UltraChrome® Pro 12 Inks with K3 technology, and Black Enhance Overcoat (BEO) technology.

Epson introduced the award-winning proprietary piezo-electric technology, called Micro Piezo in 1993, and Micro Piezo has made Epson inkjet printers renowned for their high quality output, reliability, and low running costs.  Today, Epson is the only company that uses the piezo-electric printhead throughout its inkjet printing device range, from the smallest personal photo printer to the largest industrial system.  Epson Micro Piezo technology fires ink droplets onto a surface by applying an electric charge to piezo-electric elements, which bend when an electrical charge is passed through them.  Using piezo-electric technology, the amount of ink pulled into and expelled out of the nozzles can be very accurately controlled by varying the electrical charge given to the piezo-electric elements.  This enables the printhead to eject ink droplets in a range of precisely controlled sizes.  Ink droplets are propelled instead of heating the ink, which results in a wider range of printing applications and media compatibility, including paper, and industrial applications, fabric printing, indoor filter fabrication and applying patterns to electronic circuit boards. Epson Micro Piezo technology minimises impact on the environment because it uses ink very efficiently and places ink droplets accurately, to prevent wasted paper.  The printheads last the lifetime of the printer.

Epson PrecisionCore printhead technology features new enhancements including a new wave form, improving dot placement and accuracy, delivering Epson’s renowned industry-leading output quality at high speed. Inch for inch, the high-resolution Epson print chips are one of the fastest inkjet printing technologies in the world.  PrecisionCore piezo elements each fire nearly 50,000 times per second.  PrecisionCore has up to triple the nozzle density of conventional Epson piezo printheads.  The nozzles are roughly 20 microns in diameter and deliver small, round, repeatable dots about 40 microns across.  This dot precision creates sharp text and fine lines. PrecisionCore uses the power of the piezo crystal to increase reliability.  The piezo element generates a voltage that can detect in milliseconds, whether its firing normally and self diagnose its health.  The automatic nozzle check system uses advanced ink droplet detection to eliminate misprinting caused by nozzle clogging.  Ink drops with an electrical charge are read by a sensor which takes less than 15 seconds, requires no media and consumes only a miniscule amount of ink.    PrecisionCore’s micro-mechanical firing elements avoid material limitations faced by heat-based systems.  More colourful and durable ink formulations with higher concentrations of colorants and binders can be used compared to heat-based systems, allowing for printing on a much wider range of substrates. PrecisionCore Scalable Technology is designed for products ranging from industrial systems such as large-scale label presses to desktop printers.  Its modularity allows PrecisionCore print chips to be arrayed in both moving serial and fixed line printhead configurations.

Epson Variable Sized Droplet Technology (VSDT) refers to the capability of Epson’s Micro Piezo printhead technology to eject ink droplets of different sizes by varying the electrical charge give to the piezo-electric elements.  Epson’s printers can achieve up to five variable sized ink droplets as small as 1.5 picoliters.  Such superior precision results in sharp, rich, and virtually grain-free text and images, key qualities strongly associated through the years with Epson’s renowned photo-quality prints. The low temperature of operation makes Epson Micro Piezo printheads compatible with a wide range of inks, including dye and pigment types, solvent inks, and ultraviolet cure inks.  Epson Micro Piezo printheads run much cooler than thermal inkjet ones and can provide reliable operation for the life span of the printer.  Epson ink cartridges do not require a printhead attached, making the ink cartridges more affordable, and environmentally friendly.  Epson Micro Piezo printheads use less power than thermal inkjet printheads because the piezo-electric method of ink ejection is far more efficient.

The Epson Exotic Thin Film Piezo (TFP) printhead and Low Vibration Meniscus Control technologies deliver a superior level of ink placement accuracy and extraordinary photographic quality.  The Epson TFP is the highest resolution 1-inch wide high performance inkjet printhead with 800 nozzles per channel.  It is capable of using up to 10 separate ink channels simultaneously.  Epson Low Vibration Meniscus Control technology delivers highly accurate dot shape and high precision impact point control for extreme dot placement accuracy by precisely controlling the curvature of every ink droplet within each nozzle before releasing it onto the media.  There is an ink repelling coating which dramatically reduces nozzle clogging.  Variable size droplets, as small as 3.5 picoliters in the SC-P printer series decrease the print times and optimise the photographic quality.

The Epson PrecisionCore Printhead, originally in a 1 inch configuration, is now 2.64 inch PrecisionCore Micro TFP Printhead, in the SureColor P7300 and SureColor 9300 large format printers.  This results in faster throughput and reduced downtime

The Epson UltraChrome Pro 12 Ink with K3 technology has been specifically designed for the SC-P7500 and SC-P9500 large format printers.   UltraChrome Pro 12 inks include orange, green and violet, and deliver the ultimate in  colour accuracy with the widest colour gamut on the market and 99% Pantone coverage.  UltraChrome Pro 12 Ink also deliver the best perceptual black density with black enhancement overcoating technology.   Epson UltraChrome® Pro 12 Ink sets are pigment inks with high pigment density and Resin Encapsulation technology delivers superior gloss uniformity for more stability and even surface and gloss, and high stability on a wide variety of media including fine art, speciality and plain paper.  Epson UltraChrome® Pro 12 Inks can be used on a wide variety of media while maintaining outstanding light fastness and made for professional display and sales applications.    Epson UltraChrome® Pro 12  inks are ideal for fine art, photography and proofing.

The Epson UltraChrome PRO10 Inks with violet have been specifically designed for the SC-P7300 and SC-P9300 large format printers.  UltraChrome PRO10 inks include photo black, matte black, cyan, light cyan, magenta, vivid magenta, yellow, gray, light gray, and violet. These inks deliver exceptional image quality and enhance the colour gamut and produce wider blue reproduction.  With dedicated black ink channels, no black ink switching is needed, saving time and ink.

The Epson Black Enhance Overcoat (BEO) technology achieves richer blacks, improved contrast and enhanced black density.  The light gray ink creates a smooth overcoat that prevents diffusion and allows light to reflect.  Increased black density makes for richer blacks and increased black density improves colour contrast.

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