The Epson Stylus Photo R260 will be available in September for an estimated street price of $129.99. The Epson Stylus Photo R380 and RX580 will be available in October for an estimated street price of $199.99.

Epson America Press Release

Epson Ushers in the Era of Ultra Hi-Definition Photo Printing - New Ultra Hi-Definition Epson Stylus(R) Photo R260 and R380 Printers and Epson Stylus Photo RX580 Photo All-in-One Bring Unparalleled Combination of Image Quality, Longevity and Speed to Home Photo Enthusiasts

LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/—Beginning today, the world of consumer photo printing takes a big step forward with the introduction of three Ultra Hi-Definition photo printers from Epson that deliver the ultimate professional-level prints to the home photo enthusiast at amazing print speeds. The Ultra Hi-Definition product line consists of the Epson Stylus Photo R260 and R380 photo printers, along with the Epson Stylus Photo RX580 photo all-in-one. Using some of the same technology that professionals rely on to produce beautiful and marketable art, Epson’s new Ultra Hi-Definition printers set a new standard in the photo printer category. A key component of the new product line is Claria(TM) ink, the latest breakthrough in Epson’s long line of ink innovations, delivering superior image quality with Ultra Hi-Definition richness, depth and clarity. With Claria ink and a newly designed print head, these products deliver the fastest photo print speeds of any previous Epson model, and print longevity that is superior to lab photos.

The Ultra Hi-Definition product line offers a variety of convenient and user-friendly features, such as automatic photo correction, which automatically adjusts improperly lit photos and corrects skin tones for better-looking prints—it’s like having a trained photo lab technician inside the printer. All three models also print directly on ink jet printable CDs and DVDs without messy labels.

“Just as HD created a new standard in consumer video, Epson has raised the bar once again for consumers who are demanding professional photo quality output in an affordable home printer,” said Steve Semos, product manager, Epson. “We’ve taken our experience in the professional photography market and incorporated many of those attributes into our new Ultra Hi-Definition products with Claria ink to create the best consumer photo printers on the market, bar none. Now, printing brilliant Ultra Hi-Definition photos that can last for generations takes just seconds right at home.”

Shared Features of the Ultra Hi-Definition Product Line
The Epson Stylus Photo R260, R380 and RX580 offer many new and innovative features to provide consumers with an advanced printing system right at home. Shared features and performance include:

  * Claria Hi-Definition Ink: Provides the ultimate combination of photo
  quality and longevity for smudge, scratch, water, and fade resistant
  prints that will last for years to come; supports a variety of media
  sizes and surface types to satisfy the discerning photo enthusiast

  * DX5 Technology: Enables Epson’s patented MicroPiezo(R) print head to
  deliver five sizes of ink droplets, as small as 1.5 picoliters, to
  produce microscopic droplets of Claria ink for grain-free photos; each
  nozzle discerns and adjusts the droplet size based on printing needs;
  multiple droplet sizes work together with six-color Claria ink to create
  greater tonal range for smooth gradations and accurate skin tones

  * Faster Print Speeds: Epson’s breakthrough print head delivers a
  borderless 4"x 6” photo in as fast as 13 seconds (draft mode), a
  better-than-lab quality borderless 4"x 6” photo in as fast as 30 seconds
  (default mode) and everyday black and color text documents in up to
  30 pages per minute(1)

  * Automatic Photo Correction: Adjusts photos automatically to create the
  best prints, correcting color for dark, backlit and washed-out photos,
  adjusting skin tones, enhancing the richness of scenery photos,
  automatically sharpening, and removing red eye(2); automatic photo
  correction is also available PC-free on the Epson Stylus Photo R380 and
  RX580

  * Direct CD/DVD Printing: Prints directly on ink jet printable CDs and
  DVDs, a feature offered only by Epson; customized designs can be created
  quickly and simply with the included Epson Print CD software and printed
  out in the convenient front-loading CD tray; CDs and DVDs print over the
  entire surface area from the center to the edge for a clean and
  professional look, eliminating the need for messy labels that can warp
  and potentially damage CD/DVD drives

  * BorderFree(R) Printing: Delivers beautiful BorderFree photos in 4"x 6”,
  5"x 7”, 8"x 10,” and letter-size prints with no perforations or edges to
  trim

More About the Epson Stylus Photo R260
The Epson Stylus Photo R260 is a full-featured Ultra Hi-Definition photo printer, offering outstanding print quality for a remarkably low price. The Epson Stylus Photo R260 provides all of the features and performance offered in the new Ultra Hi-Definition product line, including CD/DVD printing, fast print speeds and automatic photo correction. For added convenience, the Epson Stylus Photo R260 uses individual ink cartridges and features a front positioned PictBridge port for direct photo printing from PictBridge-enabled digital cameras and phones.

More About the Epson Stylus Photo R380
The Epson Stylus Photo R380 is the step-up from the Epson Stylus Photo R260, offering the same Ultra Hi-Definition quality and versatility, plus a robust set of PC-free photo printing capabilities. Featuring a large high-quality 3.5-inch color LCD and built-in memory card slots for all popular formats, the Epson Stylus Photo R380 enables digital camera owners to quickly view, select, crop, enlarge, and print photos without ever having to turn on a computer. In standalone mode, photo enthusiasts can browse and share photos with a built-in slideshow feature, crop and print photos in various sizes and on multiple media types, and view and print images by date, an exclusive Epson capability and helpful feature when printing from larger memory cards. The photo printer also allows users to print photos directly from video clips (offered only with the Epson Stylus Photo R380).

Other features of the Epson Stylus Photo R380 include the ability to save photos to, and print from, an external CD, Zip(R) or Flash memory drive as well as direct printing from Bluetooth(TM)-enabled devices using an optional Bluetooth adapter.

More About the Epson Stylus Photo RX580
The Epson Stylus Photo RX580 all-in-one rounds out the new Ultra Hi-Definition product line, offering the same leading-edge image quality, performance and PC-free capabilities featured on the Epson Stylus Photo R380 and more. Beyond full-featured scanning, printing and copying, the Epson Stylus Photo RX580 allows photo enthusiasts to restore color to faded photos and create customized photo greeting cards. A built-in 2.5-inch color LCD makes viewing, selecting and editing images convenient and simple, providing a quick and easy way to print directly from popular media cards and Flash memory drives or digital cameras and cell phones via PictBridge connection or optional Bluetooth. Product highlights include:

  * Photo Quality Scanning: Scans everyday documents, receipts, photos, and
  more with 48-bit, 1200 x 2400 dpi resolution; also scans directly to
  PDF, a memory card or Flash drive

  * Restoring and Reprinting Photos: Easily restores the color to old, faded
  and/or badly exposed images with or without a computer using its
  one-click Color Restoration feature; enables users to crop or enlarge
  pictures or change a color photo to black and white

  * High Quality Copies of Photos and Everyday Documents: Convenient PC-free
  copying feature enables users to duplicate high-resolution, borderless
  black and white or color photos, and quickly make copies of everyday
  documents up to 30 copies per minute(1)

  * Customized Photo Greeting Cards: Allows photo enthusiasts to create
  their own photo greeting cards without a computer; simply select a
  favorite photo from a memory card and combine it with customized text
  and designs using the scanner

Pricing and Availability
The Epson Stylus Photo R260 will be available in September for an estimated street price of $129.99. The Epson Stylus Photo R380 and RX580 will be available in October for an estimated street price of $199.99. All Ultra Hi-Definition printers are both Windows and Macintosh compatible and will be available at major computer and electronics superstores and can be purchased through mail order, the Internet and Epson’s own retail site, www.epsonstore.com. The models are backed by the one-year Epson Limited Warranty and are supported by the EPSON Connection(SM), a customer support and technical assistance line. For more information about Epson and its products, call 1-800-GO-EPSON (1-800-463-7766) or visit www.epson.com/UltraHD.

About Epson America, Inc.
Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, business, photography, and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transaction terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America, Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration, and energy efficiency. Epson America, Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.

Note: Specifications subject to change. Epson, Epson Stylus and MicroPiezo are registered trademarks and Claria is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. BorderFree is a registered trademark and Epson Connection is a service mark of Epson America, Inc. All other products and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks.

(1) Pages/copies per minute speed measured after first page, based on black text and color text patterns in Draft Mode on plain paper. Color photo in indicated mode on Premium Photo Paper Glossy measured from start of paper feed. Additional print time will vary based on system configuration, software application and page complexity. See www.epson.com/printspeed for more information about print speed.

(2) Not available when printing using Mac OS X.