New Epson Stylus C82 Ink Jet Printer

August 27, 2002 - Advancing off the platforms of one of its most successful and popular products to date, Epson America is launching a new ink jet printer that provides even greater performance and value for home and small office customers. The new EPSON Stylus C82 takes the throne as Epson's new flagship, all-purpose ink jet printer, selling for $149 and offering customers several new technical advancements including improved formulas of Epson's long-lasting DuraBrite inks.

The Stylus C82 replaces the Stylus C80 and is Epson's fastest four-color desktop printer ever made, using a new high-speed Micro Piezo print head that delivers up to 22 pages per minute (ppm) in black and up to 11 ppm in color. This printer also takes advantage of a unique and highly advanced imaging technology known as Resolution Performance Management (RPM). This feature enables the Stylus C82 to place up to six different ink droplet sizes as small as three picoliters at resolution levels as high as 5,760 x 720 optimized dpi for sharper text, greater detail and brighter colors. "This product is tailored especially for customers who demand the highest level of text and photo quality possible on plain or recyclable paper in addition to fast output, reliability and low cost of operation," said Steve Semos, product manager, consumer ink jet printers, Epson. "Once again, we've engineered a lot of new hardware to give customers industry-leading performance, but it's the advancements in our DuraBrite inks that really make it stand out like no other printer on the market."

Enhanced DuraBrite Inks -Water-Resistant Prints that Last up to 80 Years
Epson has engineered a more advanced formula of DuraBrite inks - made exclusively for the Stylus C82. These pigment-based inks are designed to not only produce durable, detailed output on a variety of media, but also offer richer colors and even greater highlight and shadow detail than the previous formula used with the Stylus C80. Unlike prints from traditional dye-based inks, output from DuraBrite color and black inks can be submerged in water without the ink coming off the page. This feature is designed to give creators of fliers, menus, signs, postcards and almost any other printed output the ability to produce documents and images that will withstand damage caused by moisture-based threats such as rain, spills or people with wet hands.

DuraBrite inks also have a light-resistance rating of up to 80 years on certain specialty media and an unmatched 70-year rating on plain paper, making it possible to safely place prints in areas where light would normally cause images to fade quickly. Bleed-through is reduced since EPSON DuraBrite inks rest on the surface of the paper, which is ideal for applications that require double-sided printing. This reduction in dot gain also makes it possible to create ink droplets on paper that are 30 percent smaller than dye-based ink, resulting in superior detail and sharpness. The EPSON Stylus C82 includes four separate "snap-in/snap-out" ink cartridges to maximize ink yield - one extra-large black ink cartridge and three color ink cartridges (cyan, yellow and magenta). Since these individual color inks can be replaced at any time, efficiency is maximized, lowering the total cost of ownership. Each cartridge also contains a chip that relays ink level information on screen to the user via the printer driver, while self-sealing valves preserve the inks up to six months once removed from the printer. Therefore, reinserted cartridges that haven't been fully depleted can be reinserted for later use.

Easy to Set Up and Use
Epson has also increased its focus on setup/installation and ease of use on its latest four-color ink jet printers. Once a printer has been taken out of the box, a new plug-and-play installation feature enables Windows users to simply attach their computer and printer using a USB cable, follow a few basic onscreen instructions and in a few minutes begin printing. Choosing which printer settings to use in the driver using Windows has also been simplified with the addition of a basic icon-based user interface that will help even the most novice users find the most ideal combinations of speed and image quality for a variety of print jobs.

Users printing photographs taken from digital cameras will also find it easier to print great-looking photos on a variety of photographic papers (including borderless 4" x 6" photos) using the new EXIF Print feature. EXIF is an international standard and acronym (Exchangeable Image File format) that enables the printer to automatically compensate for advanced digital image parameters such as color space, noise reduction, white balance and more.

The EPSON Stylus C82 is capable of large-quantity printing when needed. The printer's paper input tray holds up to 150 sheets of 20-pound paper at a time, reducing the number of times a user will need to refill the tray during a large print job. It also has the capacity to print as many as 5,000 sheets per month. Additionally, the Stylus C82 offers both USB and parallel connectivity for simultaneous use of either Macintosh or Windows platforms.

Wireless and Network Connectivity
Increasing use of wireless technology protocols such as Wi-Fi have led to the creation of a similar printer called the EPSON Stylus C82WN. This product offers the same features as the Stylus C82 with the addition of a wireless Ethernet 802.11b print server that supports multiple network protocols. Users can print to the wireless EPSON Stylus C82WN through an access point or directly from a PC or Mac equipped with an 802.11b wireless adapter. As a result, users can transfer information from their computer to the printer up to 120 feet in distance at speeds as fast as 11 megabits per second. The EPSON Stylus C82WN sells for $379. An optional wireless Bluetooth interface adapter that simply plugs into the printer's parallel port is also available for $129.

Wired local area network users will be able to take advantage of a similar model called the EPSON Stylus C82N. Once again, this printer will offer the same features found in the Stylus C82 with the addition of an EpsonNet External 10/100Mbit Print Server accessory to connect the printer to a wired LAN. The EPSON Stylus C82N is available for $349.

Warranty and Support
The EPSON Stylus C82 is currently shipping to computer superstores and specialty retail stores nationwide and can also be purchased through mail order, PC manufacturers, the Internet and Epson's own site www.epsonstore.com. The EPSON Stylus C82WN and C82N will also be available at www.epsonstore.com and select retailers. Each printer carries a one-year Epson Exchange Limited Warranty, enabling customers to receive a replacement printer if a problem cannot be corrected by telephone technical support. They are also supported by the EPSON Connection, a customer support and technical assistance line. For more information on Epson and its products, call 1-800-GO-EPSON (1-800-463-7766) or visit our Web site at www.epson.com.

SOURCE Epson