Epson Stylus Pro 11880 : targeting premium indoor signages market

– IPEX South Asia 2007 to become the launch pad for this high-end photographic quality printer
At IPEX South Asia 2007, Epson is set to launch Epson Stylus Pro 11880, which they claim to be the world’s most advanced 64-inch wide printer. Visitors to the show can affirm the performance of the printer on seeing a live demo at the show.

As per Vasudevan, product manager, Large Format Printer, Epson India, “Some of the unique features of Epson Stylus Pro 11880 include Epson MicroPiezo TFP printhead technology, which happens to be the world’s highest resolution piezo inkjet printhead with 360 nozzles per inch. Besides, it uses Epson UltraChrome K3 with vivid magenta ink technology. This ensures extreme colour gamut especially within blue and purple colour ranges. It improves overall black density for significantly richer blacks. Combined together, the printer is ideal for matching all printing standards like SWOP, etc.”

“Other key features include realtime automatic switching between matte and photo black inks, automatic nozzle verification and cleaning, three level black ink technology and its easy-to-use front control panel (Large 2.5” backlit LCD control panel and operational status),” added Ram Prasad, business manager, Consumer Product Group, Epson India.

“At a speed of 90 sqft/hr, the printer is capable of printing onto virtually any media, in rolls and sheets, including substrates as thick as 1.5mm,” told Vasudevan. No wonder then that the printer is targeted at the premium indoor signages segment, where quality is prime. “The new printer gives excellent quality for print for pay and PSP segments,” added Ram.

Before the printer is commercially launched at IPEX South Asia 2007, it is already into production at two of its beta sites – Baba Digital, Mumbai and SV Photographic, Delhi. “Visitors to these beta sites are very impressed with the quality of these printers and we have already bagged a few orders in our kitty, even before the official launch of the printer,” told Vasudevan proudly.

Vis-à-vis other printers in this category, how does Epson rate the Stylus Pro 11880 printer? “In one sentence, I would like to say that quality speaks for itself,” came a quick reply from Ram.

In this cost-sensitive signage market, what is the cost per square feet on this printer? “Even though the running cost depends on various parameters like quality of the job, etc, but on an average, it falls at Rs 24 per sqft for high-quality printing and Rs 18 per sqft for mediumquality printing,” informed Vasudevan.

So, what is the price one has to pay to install this hi-tech printer? “The estimated street price is Rs 10,10,000,” Vasudevan concluded.