Seiko Epson
Encyclopedia
, commonly known as Epson, is a Japan
ese technology company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers, information and imaging related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa
, Nagano
, Japan, the company has numerous subsidiaries worldwide and manufactures inkjet
, dot matrix
and laser printer
s, scanner
s, desktop computer
s, business, multimedia and home theatre
projectors
, large home theatre television
s, robot
s and industrial automation equipment, point of sale
docket printers and cash register
s, laptop
s, integrated circuit
s, LCD components and other associated electronic components. It is one of three core companies of the Seiko Group
, a name traditionally known for manufacturing Seiko
timepieces
since its founding.
) and began as a manufacturer of watch parts for Daini Seikosha
(currently Seiko Instruments
). The company started operation in a 2500 square feet (232.3 m²) renovated miso
storehouse with 22 employees.
In 1943, Daini Seikosha established a factory in Suwa for manufacturing Seiko watches with Daiwa Kogyo. In 1959, the Suwa Factory of Daini Seikosha was split up and merged into Daiwa Kogyo to form Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd: the forerunner of the Seiko Epson Corporation. The company has developed many timepiece technologies. In particular, it developed the world's first portable quartz timer (Seiko QC-951) in 1963, the world's first quartz watch (Seiko Quartz Astron 35SQ
) in 1969, the world's first automatic power generating quartz watch
(Seiko Auto-Quartz) in 1988 and the Spring Drive
watch movement in 1999. Manufacturing of watches is still the major part of businesses for Seiko Epson today. The watches made by the company are sold through the Seiko Watch Corporation, a subsidiary of Seiko Holdings Corporation
.
In 1961, Suwa Seikosha established a company called Shinshu Seiki Co. as a subsidiary to supply precision parts for Seiko watches. When the Seiko Group
was selected to be the official time keeper for the 1964 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo, a printing timer was required to time events, and Shinshu Seiki started developing an electronic printer. In September 1968, Shinshu Seiki launched the world's first miniprinter, the EP-101
(EP stands for Electronic Printer,) which was soon incorporated into many calculators. In June 1975, the name Epson was coined into the next generation of printers based on the EP-101 which was released to the public. (EPSON:E-P-SON: SON of Electronic Printer). In April of the same year Epson America Inc. was established to sell printers for Shinshu Seiki Co.
In June 1978, the TX-80, eighty-column dot-matrix printer was released to the market, and was mainly used as a system printer for the Commodore PET
Computer. After two years of further development, an improved model, the MX-80, was launched in October 1980. This was soon the best selling printer in the United States
.
In July 1982, Shinshu Seiki officially named itself the Epson Corporation and launched the world's first handheld computer, HX-20
(HC-20), and in May 1983 the world's first portable color LCD TV was developed and launched by the company.
In November 1985, Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd. and the Epson Corporation merged to form Seiko Epson Corporation.
The company developed the Micro Piezo inkjet technology, which used a piezoelectric crystal in each nozzle and did not heat the ink at the print head while spraying the ink onto the page, and released Epson MJ-500 inkjet printer (Epson Stylus 800 cartridge) in March 1993. Shortly after in 1994, Epson released the first high resolution color inkjet printer (720x720 dpi was considered as a high resolution), the Epson Stylus Color (P860A) utilizing the Micro Piezo head technology. Newer models of the Stylus series employed Epson’s special DURABrite ink.
In 1994 Epson started outsourcing sales reps to help sell their products in retail stores in the United States. In 1994 Epson started the Epson Weekend Warrior sales program. The purpose of the program was to help improve sales, improve retail sales reps' knowledge of Epson products and to address Epson customer service in a retail environment. Reps were assigned on weekend shift, typically around 12–20 hours a week. Epson started the Weekend Warrior program with TMG Marketing (now Mosaic Sales Solutions), later with Keystone Marketing Inc, then to Mosaic and now with Campaigners INC. The Mosaic contract expired with Epson on June 24, 2007 and Epson is now represented by Campaigners Inc. Actually, their sales reps were not outsourced but rather Epson hired "rack jobbers" to ensure their retail customers displayed product properly. This freed up their regular sales force to concentrate on profitable sales solutions to VAR's and system integrators, leaving "retail" to reps who did not require sales skills.
. As of 2009, the Hattori family and its related individuals and companies are still major shareholders of Seiko Epson and have the power. Even though Seiko Holdings and Seiko Epson have some common shareholders including the key members of the Hattori family, they are not affiliated. They are managed and operated completely independently. Epson has established its own brand image but rarely uses Seiko.
In 2004 Epson introduced their R-D1 digital RangeFinder Camera, which supports Leica M mount and Leica screw mount lenses with an adapter ring. This camera is the first digital rangefinder on the market. Because its sensor is smaller than that of the standard 35 mm film frame, lenses mounted on the R-D1 have the field view 1.53 times as long as that of the standard 35 mm camera. As of 2006 the R-D1 has been replaced by the R-D1s. The R-D1s is less expensive but its hardware is identical. Epson has released a firmware patch to bring the R-D1 up to the full functionality of its successor— the first digital camera manufacturer to make such an upgrade available for free.
(ESC/P
), which became a de facto industry standard for controlling print formatting
during the era of dot matrix printer
s; whose popularity was initially started by the Epson MX-80.
Epson designed ink to be left in the cartridges (and in fact they have done so ever since they developed the piezo-electric head) due to the way the capping mechanism worked. If the capping mechanism dries out, then the heads risk getting clogged, and thus an expensive repair will be necessary. The reason that the Dutch Consumer Association retracted their statement was that, as pointed out, Epson had made a statement regarding how many pages (at usually a 5% coverage of an A4 sheet of paper) each cartridge could sustain for printing.
Nonetheless, Epson America, Inc. settled a class action lawsuit brought before the Los Angeles Superior Court
. It did not admit guilt, but they agreed to refund $45 to anyone who purchased an Epson InkJet Printer after 4/8/99 (at least $20 of which must be used at Epson's E-Store).
According to IDG News Service, Epson filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in February, 2006, against 24 companies that manufactured, imported, or distributed Epson-compatible ink cartridges for resale in the U.S. On March 30, 2007, ITC judge Paul Luckern issued an initial determination that the ink cartridges in question did infringe upon Epson's patents. The Judge also recommended those companies and others to be barred from manufacturing, importing, or reselling Epson cartridges in the U.S., said Epson.
drivers for many of their scanners making them useless with 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems. (A third party driver (VueScan) is available from Hamrick but it costs $79.95 for the full version).
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese technology company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers, information and imaging related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa
Suwa, Nagano
is a city located in Nagano, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city had an estimated population of 51,084 and a density of 468.40 persons per km². The total area of the city is 109.06 km²....
, Nagano
Nagano Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...
, Japan, the company has numerous subsidiaries worldwide and manufactures inkjet
Inkjet printer
An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that creates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer and range from small inexpensive consumer models to very large professional machines that can cost up to thousands of...
, dot matrix
Dot matrix printer
A dot matrix printer or impact matrix printer is a type of computer printer with a print head that runs back and forth, or in an up and down motion, on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper, much like the print mechanism on a typewriter...
and laser printer
Laser printer
A laser printer is a common type of computer printer that rapidly produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper. As with digital photocopiers and multifunction printers , laser printers employ a xerographic printing process, but differ from analog photocopiers in that the image is produced...
s, scanner
Image scanner
In computing, an image scanner—often abbreviated to just scanner—is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. Common examples found in offices are variations of the desktop scanner where the document is placed on a glass...
s, desktop computer
Desktop computer
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright...
s, business, multimedia and home theatre
Home cinema
Home cinema, also commonly called home theater, are home entertainment set-ups that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood with the help of video and audio equipment in a private home....
projectors
Video projector
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...
, large home theatre television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s, robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s and industrial automation equipment, point of sale
Point of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
docket printers and cash register
Cash register
A cash register or till is a mechanical or electronic device for calculating and recording sales transactions, and an attached cash drawer for storing cash...
s, laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s, integrated circuit
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
s, LCD components and other associated electronic components. It is one of three core companies of the Seiko Group
Seiko Group
is a Japanese corporate group consisting of three core companies Seiko Holdings Corp. , Seiko Instruments Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp . They are independent companies linked together by the common thread of timepiece technology...
, a name traditionally known for manufacturing Seiko
Seiko
, more commonly known simply as Seiko , is a Japanese watch company.-History and ongoing developments:The company was founded in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the...
timepieces
Watch
A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
since its founding.
20th century
The roots of Seiko Epson Corporation started with a company called Daiwa Kogyo, Ltd. that was founded in 1942 by Hisao Yamazaki, a local clock shop owner and former employee of K. Hattori, in Suwa, Nagano, Japan. Daiwa Kogyo was supported by an investment from the Hattori family (founder of the Seiko GroupSeiko Group
is a Japanese corporate group consisting of three core companies Seiko Holdings Corp. , Seiko Instruments Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp . They are independent companies linked together by the common thread of timepiece technology...
) and began as a manufacturer of watch parts for Daini Seikosha
Seikosha
was a branch of the Japanese company Seiko that produces clocks, watches, shutters, computer printers and other devices. It was the root of the manufacturing companies of the Seiko Group.*1881 — Kintarō Hattori opens the watch and jewelry shop "K...
(currently Seiko Instruments
Seiko Instruments
, or SII, is a Japanese company, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor, micromechatronics, and precision timepiece technology...
). The company started operation in a 2500 square feet (232.3 m²) renovated miso
Miso
is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus , the most typical miso being made with soy. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso...
storehouse with 22 employees.
In 1943, Daini Seikosha established a factory in Suwa for manufacturing Seiko watches with Daiwa Kogyo. In 1959, the Suwa Factory of Daini Seikosha was split up and merged into Daiwa Kogyo to form Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd: the forerunner of the Seiko Epson Corporation. The company has developed many timepiece technologies. In particular, it developed the world's first portable quartz timer (Seiko QC-951) in 1963, the world's first quartz watch (Seiko Quartz Astron 35SQ
Astron (wristwatch)
The Astron wristwatch, formally known as the Seiko Quartz-Astron 35SQ, was the world's first "quartz clock" wristwatch, i.e., one based on a quartz crystal oscillator...
) in 1969, the world's first automatic power generating quartz watch
Automatic quartz
Automatic quartz is a collective term describing watch movements that combine a self-winding rotor mechanism to generate electricity with a piezoelectric quartz crystal as its timing element. Such movements aim to provide the advantages of quartz without the environmental impact of batteries...
(Seiko Auto-Quartz) in 1988 and the Spring Drive
Spring Drive
The Spring Drive is a novel watch movement that was developed by Seiko Epson through collaboration with Seiko Instruments and Seiko Holdings.It uses a mainspring, barrel, automatic winder and stem winding like in a mechanical watch to store the watch energy...
watch movement in 1999. Manufacturing of watches is still the major part of businesses for Seiko Epson today. The watches made by the company are sold through the Seiko Watch Corporation, a subsidiary of Seiko Holdings Corporation
Seiko
, more commonly known simply as Seiko , is a Japanese watch company.-History and ongoing developments:The company was founded in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the...
.
In 1961, Suwa Seikosha established a company called Shinshu Seiki Co. as a subsidiary to supply precision parts for Seiko watches. When the Seiko Group
Seiko Group
is a Japanese corporate group consisting of three core companies Seiko Holdings Corp. , Seiko Instruments Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp . They are independent companies linked together by the common thread of timepiece technology...
was selected to be the official time keeper for the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo, a printing timer was required to time events, and Shinshu Seiki started developing an electronic printer. In September 1968, Shinshu Seiki launched the world's first miniprinter, the EP-101
EP-101
The EP-101 was the first ever electronic miniprinter for printing figures and symbols and was launched by Shinshu Seiki Co. in September 1968. It wasn't very big, being only 164 millimetres in width, 72 millimetres in height, 133 millimetres in depth and weighed just under 2.2 kilograms. It was...
(EP stands for Electronic Printer,) which was soon incorporated into many calculators. In June 1975, the name Epson was coined into the next generation of printers based on the EP-101 which was released to the public. (EPSON:E-P-SON: SON of Electronic Printer). In April of the same year Epson America Inc. was established to sell printers for Shinshu Seiki Co.
Commodore PET
The Commodore PET was a home/personal computer produced from 1977 by Commodore International...
Computer. After two years of further development, an improved model, the MX-80, was launched in October 1980. This was soon the best selling printer in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In July 1982, Shinshu Seiki officially named itself the Epson Corporation and launched the world's first handheld computer, HX-20
Epson HX-20
The Epson HX-20 is generally regarded as the first laptop computer, announced in November 1981, although first sold widely in 1983...
(HC-20), and in May 1983 the world's first portable color LCD TV was developed and launched by the company.
In November 1985, Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd. and the Epson Corporation merged to form Seiko Epson Corporation.
The company developed the Micro Piezo inkjet technology, which used a piezoelectric crystal in each nozzle and did not heat the ink at the print head while spraying the ink onto the page, and released Epson MJ-500 inkjet printer (Epson Stylus 800 cartridge) in March 1993. Shortly after in 1994, Epson released the first high resolution color inkjet printer (720x720 dpi was considered as a high resolution), the Epson Stylus Color (P860A) utilizing the Micro Piezo head technology. Newer models of the Stylus series employed Epson’s special DURABrite ink.
In 1994 Epson started outsourcing sales reps to help sell their products in retail stores in the United States. In 1994 Epson started the Epson Weekend Warrior sales program. The purpose of the program was to help improve sales, improve retail sales reps' knowledge of Epson products and to address Epson customer service in a retail environment. Reps were assigned on weekend shift, typically around 12–20 hours a week. Epson started the Weekend Warrior program with TMG Marketing (now Mosaic Sales Solutions), later with Keystone Marketing Inc, then to Mosaic and now with Campaigners INC. The Mosaic contract expired with Epson on June 24, 2007 and Epson is now represented by Campaigners Inc. Actually, their sales reps were not outsourced but rather Epson hired "rack jobbers" to ensure their retail customers displayed product properly. This freed up their regular sales force to concentrate on profitable sales solutions to VAR's and system integrators, leaving "retail" to reps who did not require sales skills.
21st century
In June 2003, the company became public following their listing on the 1st section of the Tokyo Stock ExchangeTokyo Stock Exchange
The , called or TSE for short, is located in Tokyo, Japan and is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies...
. As of 2009, the Hattori family and its related individuals and companies are still major shareholders of Seiko Epson and have the power. Even though Seiko Holdings and Seiko Epson have some common shareholders including the key members of the Hattori family, they are not affiliated. They are managed and operated completely independently. Epson has established its own brand image but rarely uses Seiko.
In 2004 Epson introduced their R-D1 digital RangeFinder Camera, which supports Leica M mount and Leica screw mount lenses with an adapter ring. This camera is the first digital rangefinder on the market. Because its sensor is smaller than that of the standard 35 mm film frame, lenses mounted on the R-D1 have the field view 1.53 times as long as that of the standard 35 mm camera. As of 2006 the R-D1 has been replaced by the R-D1s. The R-D1s is less expensive but its hardware is identical. Epson has released a firmware patch to bring the R-D1 up to the full functionality of its successor— the first digital camera manufacturer to make such an upgrade available for free.
ESC/P
To control its printers, Epson introduced a printer control language, the Epson Standard Code for Printers or(ESC/P
ESC/P
ESC/P is a command language developed by Epson to control computer printers. It was mainly used in dot matrix printers and some inkjet printers. During the era of dot matrix printers, it was also used by other manufacturers , sometimes in modified form...
), which became a de facto industry standard for controlling print formatting
during the era of dot matrix printer
Dot matrix printer
A dot matrix printer or impact matrix printer is a type of computer printer with a print head that runs back and forth, or in an up and down motion, on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper, much like the print mechanism on a typewriter...
s; whose popularity was initially started by the Epson MX-80.
Consumables
In July 2003, a Dutch Consumer Association advised its 640,000 members to boycott Epson ink jet printers. The Netherland-based organization alleged that Epson customers were unfairly charged for ink they could never use. Later that month, however, the group retracted its call for a nationwide boycott of Epson products and issued a statement conceding that residual ink left in Epson cartridges was necessary for the printers to function properly. (PC World Friday, October 24, 2003 ).Epson designed ink to be left in the cartridges (and in fact they have done so ever since they developed the piezo-electric head) due to the way the capping mechanism worked. If the capping mechanism dries out, then the heads risk getting clogged, and thus an expensive repair will be necessary. The reason that the Dutch Consumer Association retracted their statement was that, as pointed out, Epson had made a statement regarding how many pages (at usually a 5% coverage of an A4 sheet of paper) each cartridge could sustain for printing.
Nonetheless, Epson America, Inc. settled a class action lawsuit brought before the Los Angeles Superior Court
Superior Courts of California
The Superior Courts of California are the superior courts in the U.S. state of California with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a government agency...
. It did not admit guilt, but they agreed to refund $45 to anyone who purchased an Epson InkJet Printer after 4/8/99 (at least $20 of which must be used at Epson's E-Store).
According to IDG News Service, Epson filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in February, 2006, against 24 companies that manufactured, imported, or distributed Epson-compatible ink cartridges for resale in the U.S. On March 30, 2007, ITC judge Paul Luckern issued an initial determination that the ink cartridges in question did infringe upon Epson's patents. The Judge also recommended those companies and others to be barred from manufacturing, importing, or reselling Epson cartridges in the U.S., said Epson.
64 bit drivers
As of April 24, 2010 Epson had still not released Windows 64-bit64-bit
64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
drivers for many of their scanners making them useless with 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems. (A third party driver (VueScan) is available from Hamrick but it costs $79.95 for the full version).