Print in the Channel – issue #20

INTERVIEW – EPSON’S RICHARD WELLS

Remaining positive While the print sector continues to have its challenges, it has been a positive year for Epson, which has launched a range of new products. Richard Wells explains why Epson has been successful, how a focus on sustainability has helped with this.

For Epson, 2024 has been a busy year, with a range of product launches across its portfolio, which have been targeted at users’ needs. This has helped contribute to a relatively strong year for the company, with growth of previous years consolidated. Product launches have included the mid- market A3 AMC range of MFPs in office print as well as an update of the company’s A4 office range. There has also been the introduction of the AMC 400 and 500, which addresses the high volume A4 market. “We believe to be a significant growth sector as office occupancy and work patterns settle into a long-term hybrid style,” says Richard Wells, head of market development at Epson Europe. “Our on-demand colour label printing portfolio has been strengthened by new products aimed at logistics and distribution environments; Epson continues to secure its position as the global number 1 SCARA robotics manufacturer; EcoTank continues to lead the market and grow both through the channel and our own subscription (ReadyPrint) service.” Richard adds that there has been product refresh and additional market expansion with Epson’s wide format devices, including fabric printing, signage and photographic. “Use of Epson print heads is also growing via our IJS (inkjet solutions) division with Epson print now being used in devices with print requirements across manufacturing, industrial and technology markets,” he adds.

two focus areas,” Richard adds. “First is by maintaining market share by having relevant and trusted products refreshed. For example, there is the new EM-C800 MFP, which replaces the hugely successful C579R as another new RIPS (Replacement Ink Pack System) device but with improvements required as market demands and requirements evolve. “Additionally, entering new markets where previously we did not have products for an established or emerging market where our quality of products and our sustainably- conscious approach – particularly around energy consumption, waste reduction and compact design – will allow us to become a more significant player. A good example here is the recently launched Colourworks C8000e, which allows high volumes of high-quality colour labels to be printed and include spot colour matching and ICC profiling, terms normally only found in the production print world of digital presses and Fiery controllers, but necessary for organisations wanting to maintain brand awareness via logos on labels used on products sold under its's e-commerce platform.” Mixed channel picture Epson’s success comes against a backdrop of a mixed picture in the print channel, although as Richard points out, the print channel is so wide and use of print so varied that it is difficult to make a single comment on the health of it. For instance, Richard says that in the home printing market, many people are not planning to replace or own a printer in the future. “Meanwhile, office print volumes are lower than before the pandemic but not by much, and while numbers of new devices deployed are reducing, we see growth of refurbished and remanufactured equipment and of 'hub' machines doing the work previously done by smaller devices,” he says. “Production print seems to have gone nearly full circle with massive declines of

Richard Wells head of market development Epson Europe B.V

epson.co.uk

WorkForce Pro EM-C800 Workgroup Color Multifunction Printer

Designed for need Richard says that the products Epson has released this year have been designed with the needs of users foremost in the thinking, as well as being aware of what the marketplace wants and having listened to its channel partners. “More specifically, product launches centre around

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