Seiko Epson Corporation, better known as Epson and EFI announced that the two companies will soon form an alliance in order to achieve a better market position on the colour digital print servers, superwide format printers, and the segments of inks and print management solutions market. The first results of this new alliance are already on display as a new line of large format printers which take full advantage of a new proofing technology.

The newly released Epson printers from the Stylus Pro product line, specifically the 4880, 7880, 9880 and 11880 printers, are now fully supported by the newest version of EFI Colorproof XF technology. This wide support for almost the entire line of Stylus Pro printers is said to be most beneficent for industries like photography, fine art and print production, who are traditionally the most interested in large format printing solutions that are able to provide a high level of accurate, consistent and wide gamut colour.

Craig Heckenberg, the manager of the Epson Business Solutions center said that the new 880 printer series, including the large format 11880 Stylus Pro printer will provide a new cost effective printing solution for a number of industries active on the print-for-pay, proofing, photography and fine art markets. ''Epson will continue to respond to the diversifying needs of all our customers in a very positive and productive way through strong alliances with our partners in each of these segments,'' he said.

While the Epson professional large format printers are not new additions to the list of hardware parts supported by the EFI Colorproof XF, the new version of BestColor technology which is integrated into the inkjet proofing solution includes a number of unique advantages and improvements like the Intelligent Clean Color technology which is used to create crisp and vibrant colors, while allowing for a clean and pleasant appearance on critical color areas like grey tones, spot colors and skin tones.

Another new function found on the new Epson printers is providing a full color gamut as it allows users to reach the maximum potential of their hardware equipment, while providing good reproduction capabilities of the primary colors. As the Colorproof XF which comes with the latest printer models from Epson is fully compliant with all industry standards, it also provides the most up to date proofing technologies, while being compatible with a wide number of hardware platforms, including personal computers and Macs.

"Epson's solutions for excellent image quality and colour gamut, particularly the new UltraChrome K3 ink with Vivid Magenta technologies, combined with our Bestcolor technology-driven inkjet proofing and production solution will impress the most demanding customers," said Stefan Spiegel, general manager, Graphic Arts Solutions, EFI. "Customers who purchase Colorproof XF for Epson Stylus Pro printers are enabled to take accuracy and consistency to an entirely new level."