Epson Press Release 15/10/-03

EPSON(r) launches the first all-in-one home photo centre in Europe

EPSON’s Stylus Photo RX500 is the first all-in-one home photo centre - scan, copy and print premium quality photos from digital or analogue collections. Technically, no compromises have been made - the Stylus Photo RX500 offers premium quality photo printing and high performance scanning in one space and cost saving solution. Faded photographs and damaged negatives can be restored and images can be easily stored and shared by scanning direct to memory cards even without being connected to a PC.

October 15, 2003: The EPSON Stylus Photo RX500 offers a premium photo printing solution for semi-professional photographers and photo enthusiasts. With the ability to print, scan and copy photographs and film, the Stylus Photo RX500 combines a wide range of features and support with maximum flexibility, ease of use and cost effectiveness.

The Stylus Photo RX500 uses a 6-colour, separate ink cartridge system to deliver market leading 5760*x1440dpi premium photo quality photos with smoother tones and improved image definition. Separate ink cartridges provide cost effectiveness, while a special dye based ink, optimised for performance on photo specialist media, produces highly durable photos and gives the best combination of ozone, light and water fastness. Combined with the latest EPSON MicroPiezo(tm) print head, which can produce a droplet size of as little as 3pl for higher definition photo prints, the Stylus Photo RX500 achieves results comparable with a professional photo lab. The new print head also means that there is nearly double the number of nozzles, which results in much faster output.

Another market first for EPSON, the Stylus Photo RX500 includes an integrated transparency unit and scanner for high-resolution photo and film scanning. The MatrixCCD 2400dpi scanner allows users to capture their analogue photos into digital format for restoration and manipulation via bundled software and drivers.  The integrated transparency unit allows scanning from both positive and negative film for safely archiving images and creating copies of photos.

“EPSON’s dedication to bringing the most innovative photo solutions to the market continues with the launch of the first true photo all in one. The Stylus Photo RX500 incorporates the very latest in EPSON’s printing and scanning technologies and combines them with specific standalone functions,” says Richard Baylis, Sales and Marketing Manager, Consumer Products. “We believe this product will excite the amateur photographer and prove to be a valuable tool to semi-professional photographers.”

The Stylus Photo RX500 includes standalone copy functionality for creating high quality copies of digital and hard copy photos without the need for a PC. Through the intuitive onboard display, users can reduce and enlarge from the original source and change a range of features for optimised output. The user interface utilises EPSON’s unique Direct Function Assign buttons for quickly creating high-quality copies of photos at a maximum resolution of 1440dpi.

To offer users improved flexibility, integrated memory card slots have been included. The Stylus Photo RX500 supports all the most popular types of memory card, including the new XD format.  Users can store scanned images directly from the Stylus Photo RX500 to memory cards as well as printing directly from memory cards through the LCD interface. The Stylus Photo RX500 also includes an index print function for printing thumbnails of images available on a users memory card. The chosen images can then be selected manually by marking the index sheet, re-inserted into the printer and automatically printed.

The Stylus Photo RX500 comes with feature-rich EPSON drivers and software to help the user to create optimised photo output. The EPSON Scan software offers users dust-removal as well as colour restoration for perfectly reproducing and manipulating photos, both old and new. PhotoQuicker 3.5, Print Image Framer Tool 2.1 and Print Image Framer Designer 2.1 make it easy and fun for the user to apply effects, layouts and frames for personalising their images.

With its extensive range of features and advanced print and scan technology, the Stylus Photo RX500 is the optimum all-in-one photo solution for both digital and analogue camera users and photo enthusiasts.

Key features include:

* 5760*x1440 dpi optimised print resolution for creating premium photo quality output
* EPSON 6 colour photo printing with individual ink cartridges for the best combination of quality and cost efficiency
* Borderless printing on media up to A4 in size for true photo-lab output
* Standalone print, scan and copy functionality removing the need for a PC
* 2400dpi scanner with integrated TPU for capturing photos, and positive and negative film
* Integrated memory card adaptor for computer-free printing
* All popular types of memory card supported with direct store and print functionality
* EPSON Scan software offering novice and professional users a range of features and customisable settings for creating optimised output
* High-speed USB 2.0 support for fast transfer of data to and from a PC or Apple Macintosh(r)
* Quickly and easily print the photos you want using EPSON Scan Index sheet
* Scan and store photos directly to a memory card for easy sharing, retrieval and printing
* RRP inc VAT ?249

* Optimised dpi on suitable media using RPM