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Inkjet printer and robotic arm supplier Seiko Epson is aggressively moving to expand its product lines and boost sales of high-performance printers for uses by other sectors than consumers, aiming to achieve an annual revenue and profit goal of JPY1.7 trillion (US$15 billion) and JPY200 billion, respectively, by 2025, after scoring an impressive revenue record of JPY 1.02 trillion and net earnings of JPY65.8 billion in fiscal 2016 ending March 31, 2017, according to Koichi Kubota, the firm’s senior managing executive officer .
In a recent interview with Digitimes, Kubota said that Epson is gearing up for the development of wearable devices and smart eyeglasses, seeking to develop a presence in the consumer market for such new products. The company, he continued, is also striving to expand sales of printers, robotic arms and projectors for office and industrial uses while continuing to increase its share of the consumer market for such products.
At the moment, printers and multifunction office machines contribute two thirds of the company’s revenues, and after gaining a solid footing in the consumer market for inkjet printers, Epson has regarded it as the most crucial task to develop inkjet printers for household, office, industry and commercial uses, according to Kubota.
Unique micro piezo technology
In terms of inkjet technology innovation, Kubota disclosed, Epson will further deepen the application of its unique micro piezo technology and come out with large-sized commercial-use inkjet printers. In the past, Epson’s inkjet printers were mostly for use by individuals and those engaged in small-office and home-office operations, but it is stepping up applying inkjet technology to office-use printers and industrial-use digital printing machines.
Kubota said Epson has newly developed printers with a continuous inking system, designed to meet the customer needs for large printing volume and enhance the firm’s brand strength. The company has also debuted a high-speed linehead micro inkjet printer to serve as a major tool for converting laser printers and photocopiers into inkjet models, so as to drive the firm’s medium to long-term business growth.
Statistics compiled by Epson show that the annual global market scale for inkjet printers and materials is estimated at US$36 billion, and the market scale for laser printers and materials are estimated at US$126 billion, including US$50 billion for A3 laser printers and US$76 billion for A4 models.
Accordingly, after having scored a leading position in the consumer market for inkjet printers, the company finds tremendous business potentials in the new niche market for commercial-use inkjet printers. With this, Epson will use high-speed linehead inkjet printers with a maximum printing speed of 100ppm to rival the current mainstream A3 laser printers with a speed of over 45ppm, and will continue offering printers with a continuous inking system and commercial-use cartridge printers to replace lower-end laser printers with printing speed of under 30ppm and satisfy customer needs for high printing volume, particularly in the Southeast Asian and other emerging markets, according to Kubota.
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