As the Epson brand officially turns 50, the company has gathered some important reflections and milestones form its burgeoning history, as a tip of the cap to the global giant’s spirit of ‘Creativity & Challenge’ and ‘Integrity & Effort’.
New Epson Experience Centre at their Australian Headquarters in North Sydney
The Epson story actually starts a little over 8 decades ago, back in 1942, wih its roots in the watch-making industry. That marked the origins of a company that has consistently advanced the efficient, conpact and precise technologies first developed for watches. Since then, Epson firsts include:
1968 – its first information equipment product, the compact and lightweight EP-101 digital electronic printer
The origin of the Epson name dates back to its original EP 101 Electronic Printer
1969 - the world’s first commercial quartz watch
1975 - the MP-80, a compact computer printer with ESC/P (a control language that became an industry standard)
1982 - introduced a wristwatch with an integrated television
1988 - a self-winding quartz watch, requiring no battery replacement
1989 - the VPJ-700, Epson’s first compact full-colour LCD projector
1994 - the ELP-3000 projector, offering three times the brightness of conventional models in a compact form factor
1993 - the MJ-500 inkjet printer, featuring Epson’s proprietary Micro Piezo technology
1994 - the MJ-700V2C, the world’s first affordable high-resolution (720 dpi) printer
2000 - entered the large-format printer market for professional graphics
2003 - the Monna Lisa 160B digital textile printer, renowned for its high image fidelity (even able to to render photographic details on fabrics) with low waste and a small environmental footprint
2010 - the SurePress digital label press series, to meet the growing demand for short-run print-runs and diverse printing needs of the commercial and industrial sectors
Today the Epson SureColor S9160 is dominating the news
2010 - the EcoTank line of high-capacity ink tank printers (with now over 100 million units sold across 170 countries)
2016 - with further miniaturisation of the optical engine and improved cooling, the EB-L25000U, a 25,000-lumen high-lumen laser projector, the world’s brightest 3LCD model at the time
The Epson name was established in 1975 – hence the celebration of its 50-year anniversary this year. But the name came from the original company’s first information equipment product - the compact and lightweight EP-101 digital Electronic Printer, which the company knew would spawn several future product derivatives (SONs)…Electronic Printer SONs.
Part of the secret to Epson’s sustained success has been its ability to adapt and respond to market needs. In the early 1980s, in response to the emergence of high-mix, low-volume production, it independently developed and designed industrial SCARA robots that serve as the core of a flexible production system.
In the 1990s, having developed Micro Piezo technology for its MJ-500 inkjet printer, Epson continued to develop next generation printhead technology, which it called PrecisionCore and has since become the platform technology on which to develop a wide range of products, not only for the home and office but also for commercial and industrial applications (now deployed in high-speed linehead inkjet multifunction devices, delivering up to 100 pages per minute).
Over these decades of success, Epson’s network of manufacturing sites and service and support organisations has steadily expanded globally, growing its customer base from consumers to business and into the commercial and industrial fields. Today, the brand is synonymous with a range of high quality home, business and large format printers, as well as projectors and a wide range of other products.
Happy 50th birthday Epson!
