Australian industry journalists, including our own Colleen Bate experienced an unforgettable day at the Melbourne Grand Prix to celebrate Epson's launch and announcement of a myriad of innovative and jaw-dropping products including the new high speed large format SureColor production range, a new line-up of high-brightness 3LCD projectors, third generation Moverio smartglasses for Augmented Reality and the development of "PaperLab" - a papermaking system that turns waste paper into new paper. Colleen sent us this report.
As an Official Team Partner of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Epson availed the Epson Mercedes hospitality suite and viewing deck in the Formula One - Paddock Club to journalists, providing centre stage for all the action on the track. 
A highlight of the day's events was the ingenious behind the scenes interactive tour, experienced within the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One pit stop using Epson's Moverio BT-200 smartglasses to display the digital presentation right in the field of vision, projected into the pit stop surroundings.
Then, a brief, up-close view of the action in the pit stop gave journalists the opportunity to see Epson branding on the newly built Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One car and experience a surprise arrival by team German racing driver Nico Rosberg.
Epson's new product offerings
New high-speed colour production range
The standout product launch of the day for Wide Format Online readers would have to be the new high-speed colour production range – the 44” SureColor P10070 and 64” SureColor P20070 (See our previous coverage of these new printers).
These printers use a new ten colour ink set with an extended colour gamut and four levels of black and feature an advanced media management system that enables high production speeds with superior print quality, alignment precision, and linearity.
Offering a fast and cost-effective production platform, the SC-P10070 and SC-P20070 consume minimal power and use large pigment based ink cartridges to produce prints that dry quickly to be moisture and abrasion resistant.
Epson’s latest PrecisionCore™ MicroTFP print head technology is combined with a new ink set UltraChrome PRO which offers an extended colour gamut with deeper blacks and an additional fourth Black for superior toning and B/W reproduction. The new head enables superior print with enhanced operational durability and reduced wastage. Featuring the Nozzle Verification Technology sensing system, these printers can detect nozzle blockages automatically without having to eject ink. They also incorporate separate Matte and Photo Black channels for fast interchange without ink loss.
A new media tracking system in these printers visually maps and tracks the media as it moves through the printer with feed and pressure rollers to ensure impeccable linearity. Prints can be produced at high speed with distinguished colour consistency. When an optional Auto Take-Up unit is added the system also enables more consistent alignment and tension for efficient roll to roll production with off-line processing.
In addition to this, the new SureColor production range includes new high density Photo and Matte Black inks providing blacks that are deeper and richer. With K4 ink set and upgraded image processing (Epson Precision Dot technology), improved gradation with reduced graininess is achieved. Fewer vibrations and more accurate dot placement are achieved with the printers' new print head structure. Prints can always be consistent thanks to the new Epson Color Calibration utility.
The SureColor SC-P10070 and SC-P20070 not only produce great results, but make operation and maintenance clear and simple, allowing users to enjoy hassle-free production printing. Getting started is easy with a clearly illustrated user guide and colour LCD Panel. When it comes to handling, changing and switching media, the process is quick and effortless. During printing, a transparent printer cover window and roll cover window allows users to check the status of printing and remaining media. The print head automatically detects nozzle blocks and will self-clean as required. Manual periodic maintenance is infrequent and easy to perform.
New 25,000-lumen 3LCD laser projector
A new line-up of high-brightness Epson 3LCD projectors with a laser-light source will leave many of our readers impressed and amazed. The projectors, which include the EB-L25000U the innovative 25,000-lumen 3LCD projector, are also the first to include inorganic 3LCD panels with a laser light source and an inorganic phosphor wheel.
Thanks to Epson’s newly developed laser light source and proprietary 3LCD technology, the new line-up offers customers outstanding performance, and includes a 4K-compatible lens and the incredible zero offset ultra-short throw lens.
Confirming Epson’s commitment to the high-brightness segment, the new projectors are the result of sustained research and development. Offering mind-blowing image quality, reliability and flexibility, the line-up will include five models ranging from 6,000 to 25,000 lumens.
Epson has in recent years steadily increased its line-up of projectors in this class for applications including large exhibition rooms, concert halls and outdoor signage. According to Futuresource Consulting Ltd, the high-lumen projector market is forecast to grow by 125 percent by 2020, and the company is continuing to invest heavily in developing technologies and products to meet those expanding needs.
Third generation Moverio smartglasses for Augmented Reality
Announcement of the third generation of Epson's Moverio silicon smartglasses for Augmented Reality at the launch event was met with excitement.
Available in Australia and New Zealand later this year, the Moverio BT-300 features Epson's own cutting edge silicon-based OLED (organic light emitting diode) digital display technology, enabling the device to be the lightest see-through binocular smartglasses on the market, and setting the new standard for augmented reality smart eyewear.
The Moverio BT-300 is approximately 20 percent lighter than its predecessor, the BT-200, a model which is currently being used by the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team for use before, during and after the Formula One Grand Prix, during testing, research and development to benefit the team. The smartglasses are also used to provide VIP guests with a behind the scenes interactive tour at the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One pitstop,
They are currently being used by some of Australia’s top education and research organisations including the CSIRO, the University of Western Sydney and Griffith University.
Built with a quad core Intel Atom processor and Android OS 5.1, the BT-300 has significantly increased power to enable it to process 3D heavy content, and maintains up to six hours of battery life. Seeing and making sense of the user's environment through a 5-mega-pixel front-facing HD camera and other sensors, the smartglasses render content based on what is seen. As on previous models, and cautious of privacy standards, the device features an LED to indicate when the camera is recording.
New papermaking system that turns waste paper into new paper
Epson announced the development of the ingenious compact office papermaking system capable of producing new paper from securely shredded waste paper without the use of water.
Epson plans to put the new "PaperLab" into commercial production in Japan in 2016 with sales in other regions to be decided at a later date. Businesses and government offices that install a PaperLab in a backyard area will be able to produce paper of various sizes, thicknesses, and types, from office paper and business card paper to paper that is coloured and scented.
A developmental prototype of the PaperLab will be demonstrated at the Epson booth (booth location: 4-002) at Eco-Products 2015, an environmental exhibition that will take place at the Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Centre) from December 10 to 12.
The enduring universal appeal of paper lies in its simplicity as a communication tool. Information on the highly portable and always convenient medium of paper is easy to read, easy to digest, and easy to remember. On the other hand, this essential tool is also produced from a limited resource. As a leading company in the world of printing, Epson has been deeply involved with paper used for its printer products. With this in mind, the company set out to develop technology that would change the paper cycle. With PaperLab, Epson aims to give new value to paper and stimulate recycling.
With PaperLab, Epson is looking to shorten and localise a new recycling process in the office. In addition, PaperLab breaks documents down into paper fibres, so the information on them is completely destroyed. It produces about 14 A4 sheets per minute and 6,720 sheets in an eight-hour day and users can produce a variety of types of paper to meet their needs, from A4 and A3 office paper of various thicknesses to paper for business cards, colour paper and even scented paper.
Waste paper is mechanically fiberised using an original mechanism that transforms the paper into long, thin cottony, fibres and, in the process, immediately and completely destroying confidential documents. Since the PaperLab does not use water, it does not require plumbing facilities. That, plus its compact size, makes it easy to install in the backyard of an office.
A variety of different binders can be added to the fiberised material to increase the binding strength or whiteness of the paper or to add colour, fragrance, flame resistance, or other properties needed for a given application.
Epson aims to help customers increase operational efficiency by providing high-speed, low-power business inkjet printers that deliver images of amazing quality at a low cost per print. And by employing PaperLab to convert used paper into new, the company believes that offices of all types will fundamentally change the way they think about paper.
Epson Australia
www.epson.com.au
