Epson large-format high-level interview: technology innovation "print" leading industry development

On April 21, 2017, the Epson Innovation Conference was held in the beautiful coastal city of Qingdao. In this innovation conference, Epson has launched and displayed more than 120 innovative products and more than 50 solutions in the field of inkjet, visual, wearable and robotics for Chinese customers. , industry and home applications, building a new ecosystem of living and working, received high attention from the participants.

After the meeting, the “Asian Logo” reporter had the opportunity to interview Epson's leaders. Through in-depth communication, we have a deeper understanding of the Epson large-format product line market layout planning and new technologies.

Mr. Sang Tian Zhizhang, Director of Seiko Epson's Printer Business Strategy Promotion Department (third from right)

Ms. Jin Gu Meichun, Director of Printer Element Design Department of Seiko Epson Corporation (fourth from left)

Mr. Uchida, Director of Professional Printing Market, Epson (China) Co., Ltd. (second from right)

Mr. Huang Weixian, Director of Professional Printing Sales, Epson (China) Co., Ltd. (second from left)

Ms. Xu Yunli, Director of Acquisition and Catalogue of Asia Logo (fourth from right)

Epson large format market review and expectations

It is reported that the global large-format inkjet printers are growing at a rate of 5.7% per year, and large-format printers have become a business tool for more and more logo companies. In response to the global market performance of Epson large-format printers, Mr. Sang Tian Zhizhang, director of the Epson printer business strategy promotion department, said that under the global trend of growth, Epson has a considerable market share with the main advantages of high output quality. Epson's products are distributed in the fields of advertising, labeling, printing and dyeing. Although it is difficult to count in the field of printing and dyeing and labeling because of different media and ink, Epson has always been committed to developing the printing and dyeing and labeling markets and expanding market share.

Next, Epson will continue to develop and develop the advertising, printing and labeling and labeling markets with its high image quality in terms of images. Epson hopes that image-based, inkjet technology will provide a simple and flexible production process to promote the digital process in this field, especially for industrial and commercial use.

Speaking of the performance of China's large-format market in 2016, Mr. Uchida, Director of Professional Printing Market of Epson (China) Co., Ltd. said that in 2016, the competition in the large format printer market in China was quite fierce, and the size of the image market declined. Despite the tough market, Epson has further expanded its imaging, advertising and printing markets by providing high quality and efficient solutions.

At present, China's large-format printing market is in a vicious competition stage of “price war”. Some large-format equipment manufacturers sell compatible inks in their own stores in order to meet the needs of the Chinese market, but this compatible ink will not only be used for printer nozzles. Damage is caused, and image output of high quality pictures cannot be guaranteed. In response to the situation in the Chinese market, Uchida said: "The Chinese market is one of the most important links in the global market. This market has changed a lot. Customers have higher and higher requirements for printing quality, and the application solutions are not stable enough and mature. Incomplete materials and software will lead to low output quality. For this reason, Epson will continue to develop and provide innovative products, solutions and services to promote the further development of the Chinese market and ensure market share."

Technology + localization strategy to meet the needs of Chinese users

At the previous innovation conferences, Epson has emphasized the strategy of “technology + localization”. How does this strategy reach the large-format product line? Huang Weixian, the professional print sales director of Epson (China) Co., Ltd., gave a model: Epson New Product SureColorB9080. This model is not the main model in other countries. Now, Epson's main advertising products in the world are SureColorS40680/S60680/S80680 micro-jet photo machines. These products use weak solvent ink to provide high quality and medium quality. Long-term display of advertising output.

Many advertisements in the Chinese market are for short-term display purposes, such as subway and public transportation advertisements. Therefore, Epson (China) Co., Ltd. requires the headquarters to increase the solution for the output model of the advertising industry. Short-term display uses mainly dye inks, and some of the cheaper dye inks are suitable for the Chinese market. But localization is not just about replacing ink. Epson's headquarters also updates the nozzles, including the waveform of the nozzle voltage, the material in the nozzle, and the update of the color chart technology. The Epson halftone module technology is updated, and the micro-feathering technology. Updates and tests for different media suitable for Epson dye inks. Through this rigorous localization plan, the B9080 was successfully released at the Shanghai Advertising Exhibition in March. The output was very successful, and Epson (China) received hundreds of orders for B9080.

In my opinion, the B9080 has the advantages of high speed, high quality, low cost ink, multi-media adaptability, and long-term printing stability, which caters to the needs of Chinese users for cost-effective equipment. Epson's strategy of “technology + localization” effectively targets the needs of the Chinese market. Technological innovation not only promotes product specialization and market segmentation, but also brings new impetus to technological innovation in the entire industry.

Detailed interpretation of products to meet the needs of different industries

During the visit, Uchida Yoshihiko gave us a detailed explanation of the highlights at the conference. He said: "First, we have demonstrated the new product EpsonSureColorB9080, which is mainly used for short-term display of light box advertising and traditional advertising screen output. Compared with the previous model, it is a single nozzle, now it is a dual nozzle. The speed has improved. The speed and picture quality should be contradictory. The speed increase may affect the quality of the picture output, but this new product can be balanced. For this model, we specially developed The LUT color contrast table technology for backlights ensures the speed while taking into account the output quality. In addition, through the technology developed by Epson, the B9080 uses dye ink to print the advertising-like images with less graininess and richer black color. Therefore, it can be applied to some luxury advertisements.

The EpsonSureColor P10080 large format inkjet printer is designed for high quality, professional output such as artwork reproduction or video photography. For example, printing black and white photos, which is characterized by four levels of black (four levels of black ink). On each nozzle, 10 print chips are integrated in a misaligned arrangement with 800 nozzles per color, and the total number of nozzles is 8,000. Previously, the old model nozzles were only one inch wide and now 2.64 inches. The increase in nozzle width and data processing speeds have accelerated printer printing speeds by nearly four times. Although the image market is sluggish, we have confidence in the new models. Therefore, we hope to expand its market scope (such as wedding photo studios, children's photo studios, etc.).

The EpsonSureColorS80680 is also introduced on site, and the S series is mainly applied with weak solvent ink. Compared with the water-based inks, the S-series weak solvent inks are superior in light fastness and durability, and can be applied to outdoor advertising, and their media adaptability is also strong (such as backlights and films). Compared with the previous model, the color gamut is enlarged by about 10%. On the backlight, the color gamut is increased by about 40%, and the gloss of this ink is also improved. In addition to the innovation of ink, we also have a lot of innovations in hardware devices. This high-precision media supply system is a new structure that optimizes the supply path and ensures a stable tension. We hope to provide customers with continuous, reliable and stable operation, so we have added a cloth cleaning system to effectively protect the nozzles from nozzle clogging caused by dust, and the fluff dust collector can protect the nozzles. ”

Through the above interpretation, we can see that Epson is constantly based on product innovation, and at the same time carefully providing solutions to users in different industries. It is this innovative development concept that has the brand advantage that Epson can't shake and A good reputation.

Health and environmental protection are at the forefront of green development

At the end of the visit, Jingu Meichun, the director of the printer element design department of Seiko Epson, shared with us Epson's low-carbon environmental protection concept. She said that Epson has always been concerned about environmental protection and caring about people's health. For example, Epson S series printers use environmentally friendly solvent inks, which do not contain nickel. Epson's "live color GS3/RED" solvent ink has been awarded the GREENGUARDGOLD certification in the United States.

It is reported that GREENGUARD is a product certification of indoor air quality under UL. It is recognized as a harsh and authoritative product standard and product certification by the international community. In recent years, indoor air quality problems have been recognized and valued, and have gradually become one of the important factors affecting people's health. According to the World Health Organization, about 1.6 million people worldwide die from indoor air pollution every year. As a world-authorized testing and certification company in the field of safety and health with a history of more than 100 years, UL has developed the GREENGUARD certification standard series, which includes indoor building materials, furniture, electronic appliances and cleaning products, and people. A family of products that are closely related to life. Epson has followed the development trend of low-carbon and environmental protection, and also meets the needs of the transformation and upgrading of China's advertising industry, leading the green and healthy development of China's advertising industry.

At the same time, Epson's “live color GS3/RED” solvent ink also received the French-VOC (A+) certification, which met the test standards of the German Building Products Health Evaluation Committee (AgBB) and NordicSwan (Northern European White Swan). Users can use the safety requirements of the chemical substances proposed by the manufacturer. In addition, Epson printing ink passed the OEKO-TEX system certified ECOPASSPORT, its substrate reached the European Oeko-texStandard100 first-class standard, and reached the Chinese GB18401-2010A standard.

Focusing on Epson25's long-term corporate vision, Epson creates value for customers through smart technology, green environmental protection and outstanding performance through “provincial, small and sophisticated technology”. It is believed that in the future, Epson will continue to provide customers with innovative products and solutions, and strive to become an "indispensable company" for customers and society.

Note: In this article It is a registered trademark of Epson (China) Co., Ltd.

Editor in charge: Xing Xingchen