Epson USA Press Release 30/10/03

EPSON INTRODUCES EPSON STYLUS PHOTO R800 PRINTER WITH NEW ULTRACHROME HI-GLOSS INKS

Most Advanced Letter Format Desktop Printer Features Eight Cartridge System for Archival Photographic Prints on Glossy and Matte Media

PHOTOPLUS EXPO, NEW YORK - Oct. 30, 2003- Epson America Inc. today announced the EPSON Stylus Photo R800, a new desktop photo printer featuring new Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss pigment inks for archival prints on matte and glossy media.  With an estimated street price of $399, the EPSON Stylus Photo R800 lowers the entry price for photographers and digital artists that want archival prints but do not need a large format printer. The EPSON Stylus Photo R800 is capable of making photo quality prints up to 8.5 inches by 11 inches on cut-sheet paper and up to 8.3 inches by 44 inches on roll paper.

“Photographers want the archival properties of prints made with pigment inks, but are concerned that the colors and gloss will not be as good as prints made with dye inks,” said Parker Plaisted product manager, photo imaging.  “With the EPSON Stylus Photo R800, photographers can be confidant that the Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss pigment inks will deliver archival high-quality prints on matte and glossy papers that achieve the colors and gloss level seen in prints with dye inks.”

The Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss ink set is designed specifically for photographers and digital artists.  This ink set includes eight individual cartridges and features the new Gloss Optimizer as well as Photo Black and Matte Black ink cartridges.  With an eight channel print head, the EPSON Stylus Photo R800 allows the user to keep the Photo Black and Matte Black ink cartridges in the printer at all times and the printer driver determines which black ink to use based on the paper type selected.  In addition to the traditional cyan, magenta and yellow inks, the Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss ink set also includes new red and blue inks to create a Hi-Fi ink set that expands the color gamut.  The color gamut for the Epson UltraChrome
Hi-Gloss ink on glossy paper is up to 22% larger than ink jet printers with standard cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink sets.

About the EPSON Stylus Photo R800
The EPSON Stylus Photo R800 utilizes Epson’s Advanced Micro Piezo ink jet technology to achieve a 1.5-picoliter ink droplet and resolutions up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi.  The 1.5-picoliter ink droplet sets a new standard as the smallest droplet size in the ink jet printer industry. The EPSON Stylus Photo R800 is the fastest printer in the Epson photo printer line featuring text speeds up to 17ppm and photo speeds as fast as 45 seconds for a beautiful 5” x 7” photo in photo mode on EPSON Premium Glossy Photo Paper.

This printer model also features direct CD printing capabilities enabling customers to print directly onto printable CDs or DVDs by placing them in a tray that slides through the printer’s front-loading, straight-through paper path.  This CD printing capability is an Epson exclusive feature, first introduced with the EPSON Stylus Photo 960 and is also available with the
EPSON Stylus Photo 900 and EPSON Stylus Photo R300/300M.  Macintosh and PC users can create their own CD or DVD designs, or utilize colorful backgrounds and images from the EPSON Print CD software, which now supports Mac OS 10.2 or higher and comes bundled with the printer.

Only ink-jet printable CD-R and DVD-R media are compatible with the EPSON Stylus Photo R800.  Ink-jet printable CD-R media are produced by several major media brands including Imation, Maxell, Memorex, Mitsui, TDK and Verbatim.  The ink-jet printable CD-R media can be purchased from a variety of online retailers including www.cdw.com, www.macconnection.com,
www.pcconnection.com, www.warehouse.com, and www.zones.com.

By utilizing innovations such as PRINT Image Matching technology and Epson’s patented, true BorderFree(tm) photo printing technology, the EPSON Stylus Photo R800 is able to produce the best prints possible in a variety of frame-ready and portfolio-ready photo paper sizes.
Customers can effortlessly print their photos on Epson’s Borderless 4” x 6,” 5” x 7,” and 8” x 10” photo papers without having to trim the borders or tear off perforations.

Media Choices with the EPSON Stylus Photo R800
Epson offers a wide variety of papers for use with the EPSON Stylus Photo R800 including EPSON Premium Glossy Photo Paper, EPSON Premium Semigloss Photo Paper, EPSON Premium Luster Photo Paper, EPSON Enhanced Matte Paper, EPSON Matte Paper-Heavyweight, EPSON Premium Bright White Paper and plain paper.

The EPSON Stylus Photo R800 produces long-lasting photos which can resist fading up to 80 years* with Epson’s optimized combination of EPSON UltraChrome Hi-Gloss Inks and Epson’s matte or glossy media.

Pricing, Support and Availability
The EPSON Stylus Photo R800 will be available in February 2004 for an estimated street price of $399 through mail order, computer superstores, specialty camera stores, and Epson’s retail Web site (www.epsonstore.com). The printer is backed by the one-year EPSON Exchange Warranty and is supported by the EPSON Connection, a customer support technical assistance
line.

About Epson
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) solutions 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: Epson and EPSON Stylus are registered trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. Third party brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holder.

* Lightfastness ratings based on accelerated testing of prints displayed indoors, under glass.  Actual print stability will vary according to image, display conditions, light intensity, humidity, and atmospheric conditions. Epson does not guarantee longevity of prints.  For maximum print life, display all prints under glass or laminations or properly store them.