Epson launches laser-beating PrecisionCore™ technology in Australia

In a move that has been heralded globally as the biggest threat to laser printing since the creation of that technology in 1976, Epson today officially launched its revolutionary PrecisionCore™ inkjet technology in Australia.

At the heart of PrecisionCore is the PrecisionCore MicroTFP print chip. This print chip is modular and can be arrayed in various printhead configurations. Based on the thin film piezo (TFP) technology that Epson has been using in commercial large-format printers, the MicroTFP PrecisionCore print chip offers vastly improved basic performance compared to conventional piezo printheads, including faster speed and more accurate dot placement.

Epson Australia MD Bruno Turcato said, “PrecisionCore is the evolution of Epson’s Micro Piezo proprietary piezoelectric inkjet print head technology developed by our current global president Minoru Usui in the early 1980s. Critically PrecisionCore represents a true alternative for everyone who currently uses laser printers. Put simply by using PrecisionCore technology when compared to laser printers in the same price range and class we can now offer better quality than a laser, better performance than a laser, better colour resolution than a laser at lower costs than a laser and using far less power than a laser.”

PrecisionCore’s thin film piezo printhead technology merges the latest advances in materials science and Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication with Epson's deep portfolio of inkjet technologies providing a unique and unrivalled solution.

Turcato continued, “PrecisionCore technology is also easily scalable, that’s why it will be in products from the high-end commercial printers to everyday compact small office and home office printers. This is a revolution in inkjet printing and finally means that people no longer need to rely on slower, more expensive laser printers.”

PrecisionCore’s thin film piezo actuators act as pumps that fire droplets of ink just 1 micron thick or, in laymen’s terms, 1/100 the thickness of a human hair. This level of precision and accuracy results in incredible detail and is further complemented by professional output quality at high speed by precisely controlling the droplet shape and volume at a rate up to 50,000 times a second per nozzle. The end result is higher colour resolution, higher quality black text, colour graphics and images.

The benefits don’t end there according to Turcato who added, “The faster print speeds give greater productivity without any reduction in quality saving time and money. The prints produced are extremely durable due to advances in our ink technology that means they are smudge, fade and water resistant on plain and specialty papers which often have issues in laser printers. PrecisionCore printers also have up to 50% lower printing costs and remarkably up to 70% lower energy costs than laser printers. In today’s cost conscious home and business environments these cost savings are particularly welcomed.”

As Bruno Turcato outlined, such is Epson’s investment in the development of PrecisionCore – the largest in its history - that the company is rolling out the technology across the board from its high-end commercial printers through to its consumer printers including the all-new WorkForce 3600 and 7600 series that includes the new A3 WorkForce WF-7620, and the small office/home office WorkForce Pro 4600 range all of which come with new PrecisionCore technology. Epson’s new WorkForce Pro WF-5190 and WF-5690 printers that also feature PrecisionCore and are aimed squarely at the small business market will be launched in June this year.

PrecisionCore printers are available now through selected Epson retailers including Officeworks, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys and selected resellers.

For a full list of Epson resellers go to: www.wheretobuy.epson.com.au

For more information on PrecisionCore go to: www.betterthanlaser.com.au

For a PDF detailing PrecisionCore technology go to: http://global.epson.com/innovation/printing_technology/precisioncore/pdf/precisioncore.pdf