Epson powers up its partnerships

In the past month Epson, which has a reputation as an international leader in imagining products, has announced plans to further strengthen its relationship with three of its key partners that include; ONYX Graphics, GMG and EFI.

In July, the company launched its first 64" wide printer, the Epson Stylus Pro 11880 that is primarily aimed at the print-for-pay market. The new Pro 11880, 4880, 7880, and 9880 large format printers are supported by ONYX workflow technology delivering quality out-of-the-box software solutions for the indoor and outdoor sign and display market.

"This alliance between Epson and ONYX has allowed us to combine our newly developed Epson Stylus Pro printers with ONYX workflow software products in order to address the diversifying needs of print-for-pay users in the best possible way," said Hiroshi Sotokawa, general manager of Epson's inkjet business product planning department.  "I'm confident that this new combination of technologies will set a new standard for signage users."

Following this was a solution launched for proofing and large-format production in conjunction with EFI. The deal means that the Epson Stylus Pro 4880, 7880, 9880 and 11880 printers are supported by the new version of EFI Colorproof XF. The solution extends the colour gamut along with enhancing accuracy and consistency by utilising Epson's UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta technology.

"The partnership between Epson and EFI allows us to combine our newly developed Epson Stylus Pro printers with EFI Colorproof XF software and address the diversifying needs of proofing customers in the best possible way," Sotokawa said. "We're confident that customers will find great value in this new combination of standard-setting proofing technologies."

More recently, Epson has just finished working with GMG to create the new GMG ColorProof 4.5. Enabling the printing of various levels of proofs with accurate, consistent and wide gamut colour, the ColorProof 4.5 enhances user support through features such as sharpening of proofing profiles and first-time calibrated spot colours. "I'm confident that this new combination of technologies will set a new standard for proofing," Sotokawa said.

According to said Craig Heckenberg, Business Unit Manager - Business Solutions Division, Epson is set to make more announcements in the near future. "Epson is committed to developing its growth as a company through strong partnerships with other market leading companies that share similar objectives. When I look at the strength of our global partnership's the future is very bright for not only us, but also our customers," he said.