Esko and Epson Announce OEM Agreement

GENT, BELGIUM—December 17, 2012—Esko has entered into an OEM relationship with Epson to provide a customized Digital Front-End (DFE) for use with the Epson SurePress L-4033A and L-4033AW inkjet digital label presses.

“As the label and packaging market increasingly transitions from analog to digital solutions, manufacturers of digital printing equipment are looking for digital front-end alternatives that can effectively address workflow and job-processing issues specific to their industry,” says Jef Bogaerts, commercial partnerships at Esko. “Our DFE does just that by streamlining prepress and workflow for greater efficiency. And with Esko’s Color Engine 12 integrated into the DFE, it offers Epson the ability to process files of up to seven colors to take full advantage of the capabilities of the L-4033 series presses. We are pleased to be partnering with Epson, one of the printing industry’s best-known brands.”

The six-color Epson SurePress L-4033A and seven-color L-4033AW (with white ink) inkjet digital label presses are designed for efficient high-quality, short-run label printing. Delivering exceptional print quality and accurate color reproduction on a wide-variety of standard label substrates, the L-4033 series presses enable label converters and commercial printers to expand their service offering and improve profitability. Now, with the addition of the Esko DFE, Epson customers will be able to take advantage of Esko’s expertise in the label and packaging market to deliver differentiated digital label manufacturing that incorporates Esko capabilities that have become the standard in the label and packaging industry.

“As we continue to grow our presence in the label industry, we turned to the industry leader for additional capability,” comments Kitahara Tsuyoshi, general manager, Epson. “Combined with Epson’s reputation for high-quality, affordable printing solutions, this DFE powered by Esko will bring even more value and automation to customers serving the digital label printing market. As the market continues to evolve, so do Epson products and the Esko partnership is another example of our dedication to bringing our customers best-in-class solutions that help their businesses grow and grow with their businesses.”

The new DFE, powered by Esko, will be standard on Epson SurePress L-4033 series digital label presses sold in Europe and Australia, and will be an option for presses sold in other parts of the world.

About Epson
Epson is a global imaging and innovation leader whose product lineup ranges from inkjet printers and 3LCD projectors to sensors and other microdevices. Dedicated to exceeding the vision of its customers worldwide, Epson delivers customer value based on compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies in markets spanning enterprise and the home to commerce and industry. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Epson Group comprises more than 81,000 employees in 97 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates.

About Esko
Esko is a global supplier of integrated solutions for packaging-, sign- and display-finishing, commercial printing and professional publishing. Esko products and services help customers raise productivity, reduce time-to-market, lower costs and expand business and improve profitability.

Portfolio
Esko is the worldwide market leader with software for artwork creation, structural design, pre-production, workflow automation, quality assurance and online collaboration. Esko solutions support and manage the packaging and print processes at brand owners, retailers, designers and packaging manufacturers.

CDI flexo computer-to-plate imagers and Kongsberg digital finishing systems complete the portfolio for the packaging, label, signage and display industries.

Enfocus, with its suite of PDF tools for graphic designers and print production professionals, is part of Esko.

Esko employs around 1,200 people worldwide. Its direct sales and service organization covers Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific region, completed by a network of distribution partners in more than 50 countries.

Esko is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, and has R&D and manufacturing facilities in five European countries, the United States, China and India.

Source: Esko.