Breaking the sound barrier

At its stand at CeBIT 2017 (Hanover Messe, 20-24 March 2017, Hall 3, Stand D17), Epson launched the next generation of its WorkForce Business Inkjet Systems. With the WorkForce Enterprise WF-C20590 and WorkForce Enterprise WF-C17590, the company introduced two machines that can print A4 documents at speeds of up to 100 ipm (WF-C20590) and 75 ipm (WF-C17590). The machines can process formats up to a maximum of SRA 3 and copy documents up to A3 format. This heralds the availability of energy-saving, environmentally-friendly ink technology in the high-performance range. Both devices have been designed to meet the needs of medium- and large-sized companies for departmental printers. The new Epson WorkForce Enterprise WF-C20590 will be available as the first example of this new printer generation from June from qualified trading partners.

Epson has integrated a number of functions into the new printing systems to further enhance their performance. Among other things, this includes a self-checking print head that avoids banding and other print image problems. In addition, the advanced printing technology of the new WorkForce reduces energy consumption by up to 96 per cent compared to laser printers, thereby dispensing with the need for special, high-performance power supply.

Despite their efficient use of energy, there is no compromise in the performance of the two WorkForce Enterprise printers. The one-line wide print head (linehead), which has been used in some industrial Epson print solutions, offers an extremely high printing speed. The linehead is only 45 mm wide and has 33,500 nozzles, and automatically detects nozzle misalignment. This prevents banding. The inks used in the WorkForce Enterprise dry immediately after printing so that a text marker does not cause the font to fade.

Jörn von Ahlen, Head of Marketing at Epson Deutschland GmbH, says: "The Epson WorkForce Enterprise machines greatly reduce the impact on the environment without compromising performance. They work with fewer consumables and require only a fraction of the energy currently used by comparable laser solutions. As inkjet printers, their construction is much simpler and hence reliability and downtime are also reduced. It was clear to us that we had hit upon a special solution with the WorkForce Enterprise, but the reactions of our trading partners, to whom we showed the machines in advance, have been overwhelming."

The WorkForce Enterprise also includes an optional finishing unit and a 4,000-page stacker. The devices can hold a maximum of 5,350 sheets. This series is, of course, compatible with the large range of Epson add-on features such as mobile printing and NFC support. Software services such as "Email Print for Enterprise", "Epson PrintAdmin" and "Epson Document Capture Pro" also enable the use of the new Epson Enterprise for particularly demanding print and scan jobs.

Important product information about the WorkForce Enterprise WF-Cxx590:

• Printing speeds of up to 75 ipm (WF-C17590) and 100 ipm (WF-C20590)
• High-speed scanning even for double-sided scanning: Up to 55 pages or 110 images
• Reduced energy use even in high-speed mode: Min. 180 W to max. 320 W
• Print resolution of 600 x 1,200 dpi, high-quality mode of 600 dpi x 2,400 dpi available
• Paper tray size SRA 3 (320 x 450 mm)
• Support Epson Open Platform
• High-yield ink cartridges: K with 2 x 50,000 pages, CMY with 1 x 50,000 pages each
• Wipe- and water-resistant print thanks to Epson DURABrite ink
• 9-inch (22.9 cm) touch panel
• Holds up to 5,350 sheets (80 gsm)
• Finisher with paper stacker and stapler with a capacity for up to 4,000 sheets
• Electrostatically charged conveyor belt ensures reliable paper transport.
• Supported print languages: PDL (PCL 5/6, PostScript 3, PDF) ESC/P-Raster