Epson has won Good Design Awards for a total of eight products, including the SC-T7750D and SC-P8550D large-format inkjet printers for CAD, photo and POP, and the SC-R5050 and SC-R5050L resin ink printers for wallpaper and large sign production.
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| Epson SureColor R5000 printer |
The Good Design Award, which began in 1957 as the Good Design Selection System (or G Mark System), is a leading Japanese design evaluation and commendation system. This year's Epson winners included:
SC-R5050 and SC-R5050L Resin Ink Printer
These resin-ink printers are for wallpaper and large sign production. This is the first printer in Epson's SureColor series to use resin ink, which is compatible with a wide variety of media. High-capacity ink packs reduce maintenance time and, when empty, take up 90% less storage space than used cartridges, said Epson. A wide window and LED lighting allow users to quickly check prints, and a resin exterior is used for the parts operated by people for their safety.
“This is a high-performance machine with a design that is well-organized,” the judges said. “The large viewing window, which is in the centre of the dark tone body and can be illuminated by a light inside the printer, and the touch panel are inclined for both good visibility and operability. The quick-drying resin ink is water-based instead of organic solvent-based, and the high-capacity ink packs exhibit design excellence, offering high-level features, usability, and environmental performance. With the ability to alternate between two packs of the same colour, the ink packs can be hot swapped without interrupting printing. They also generate 50% less waste than cartridges.”
SC-T7750D and SC-P8550D Large-Format Inkjet Printers
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| Epson SureColor T7700D |
These 44-inch (111cm) LFPs are designed for CAD, photo, and POP applications.
“These large-format, 6-color pigment ink inkjet printers support B0+ paper and have an exceptionally well-thought-out, polished design,” said the judges. “Epson not only considered usability but also where and how they would be installed. The sides and top are flat, and most operations can be performed from the front. With all sides flat except the front, the printers can fit perfectly flush against the wall on three sides. This feature is apparent in the appearance of the products themselves. These printers can be placed back-to-back in the middle of a room to create an island that can be used as a worktable, thanks to the perfectly flat top. Some other interesting design ideas have also been implemented, such as an LED that is provided inside a black peephole in the centre of the top so that you can see prints in progress.”
Monna Lisa ML-64000 Digital Textile Printer
This large textile printer meets high-brand quality needs. It can directly print on fabrics up to 3.6m wide. The printer measures 2.4m in height and 6m in width and is designed to evoke architectural pillars and beams, giving it a more robust look. A large window in the centre allows you to view prints. This product will help shift the textile printing market from analogue to digital and reduce the environmental impacts.
“Inkjet digital textile printing can reduce the amount of resources used in production, reduce production waste, and reduce the amount of energy and time used in transport by enabling small-scale local production,” said the judges. “This product is a large, high-end model that gives an impression of robustness and reliability due to the use of architectural forms, including pillars, beams, and a large window for checking prints. It is designed to replace analogue printing in mass production and to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
EP-M553T Inkjet Printer
This EcoTank printer further enhances the environmental credentials of the EcoTank range. The printer is made from about 30% recycled plastic. By using recycled plastic material, Epson is reducing its use of virgin plastic and helping to close the resource loop. Coated board for packaging was replaced with labels to reduce paper use, cutting CO2 emissions by about 10%.
Judge's comments:
“Ecological considerations go beyond just the use of ink tanks, extending to the materials and construction of the product and the packaging. The printer, which appears even sleeker than the previous model and easily blends in with any neat and elegant space, is easier to clean. On top of that, it has fewer parts on the exterior, increasing product strength, and is made using recycled plastic. Epson achieved its target of using at least 30% recycled material for the unit, yet the quality of the product's appearance is comparable to that of other current products. This product also earned high marks because, in addition to satisfying all the foregoing conditions, it comes with a flatbed scanner, which is an improvement over the simplified scanner in the previous model.”
SD-10 Colorimeter
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| Epson Spectrophotometer |
The SD-10 is a highly accurate, compact, and affordable colorimeter equipped with a MEMS Fabry-Perot tunable filter developed by Epson, the company said. "You can use it to digitalize colour matching, a conventionally time-consuming part of printing done manually, and link it with a smartphone or cloud service to centrally manage colour information for smoother printing. Pocket-sized and portable, it allows you to measure colours anytime, anywhere."
Judge's comments
The ability to match colours objectively based on numerical output instead of human sensory perception promises great benefits in terms of colour matching accuracy and efficiency. The digitization of the last remaining analogue part of the printing process should remove a bottleneck and enable rapid advances in efficiency. The fact that the product is reasonably priced thanks to sensor technology developed in-house and that the product fits neatly in the hand are also very appealing. The GUI is intuitive. It displays colours as numerical values and visualizes differences in colour differences with a dedicated application that was developed at the same time. Coordination with familiar colour samples such as PANTONE is also being considered, and it is not difficult to imagine its widespread use in the future.
SL-D1050 Commercial Photo Printer
This minilab printer is loaded with features required by professional photofinishing services. The box shape enables multiple units to fit neatly on shop counters. With a new duplex feeder, users can now perform double-sided cut printing in addition to roll paper printing as on the SL-D1050's predecessor. The use of ink packs increased the amount of available ink by 25% and reduced the amount of space needed to store used ink by about 55%.
EH-LS300B and EH-LS300W Home Projectors
The EH-LS300 is a home projector equipped with an ultra-short throw lens. With a picture up to 120 inches, a Yamaha 2.1-channel speaker system that provides excellent sound quality, and integrated video content features, you can easily enjoy an immersive viewing experience simply by setting up the projector next to a wall. Epson designed this projector for use in a living room. The use of fabric to fit the texture of an interior space hints at the level of detail paid to the design.
EF-12 Home Projector
The EF-12 in an all-in-one projector equipped with high-quality sound speakers and Android TVTM. It is compact and lightweight yet delivers a rich and powerful video experience with images up to 150 inches and 2.0-channel speakers. These projectors go well with any room interior and are easy to carry, so you can easily watch videos anywhere there is Wi-Fi.
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