LONG BEACH, Calif., July 14, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Education and Business environments have been waiting for a workhorse printer that not only churns out high-quality monochrome and color prints, but does so with superior reliability and an exceptionally low ink cost-per-page. Epson America Inc. today announces two printers to meet the demand -- the Epson B-300 and B-500DN.
"Budget cuts are affecting various industries across the country, but public schools and small businesses have been hit especially hard recently," said Anna Jen, director of business development, Epson America Inc. "Epson is pleased to offer the Epson B-300 and B-500DN printers to deliver extraordinary cost efficiency and nearly effortless maintenance."
Designed specifically for education and cost-sensitive business applications, the Epson B-300 and B-500DN ink jet printers are high-volume plain paper and color printing solutions optimized for economical output. The printers offer fast print speeds with high-capacity paper trays and high yield ink cartridges, as well as a wide range of features including two paper sources for greater media versatility, networkability (B-500DN), paper-saving double-sided printing (B-500DN), and easy maintenance.
About Epson B-300
The Epson B-300 is the economical answer for high-volume, desktop plain paper printing with speeds up to 37 pages per minute (draft)(1). The high-yield ink cartridges save money and time, requiring fewer changes and providing longer periods between replacements. The Epson B-300 is economical to own and operate with ink costs of less than 1.5 cents per page for black and 5 cents per page for color (based on cartridge MSRP divided by ISO page yield)(2). Other features include:
* 500-sheet front paper tray to store an entire ream of standard weight paper * Rear sheet feeder with up to 150-sheet capacity is ideal for specialty media such as art paper, card stock, student award certificates, and envelopes * Four individual, standard capacity ink cartridges allow about 3,000 pages (black) and 3,500 pages (color) to be printed before replacement (ISO page yield)(2) * Optional duplexer enables paper-saving, double-sided printing of student tests, reports and presentations * Advanced auto nozzle check system reduces nozzle clogging automatically * Easy installation and fast throughput with Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connectivity * High print productivity with a monthly duty cycle of 10,000 pages (2,000 recommended)(3) * Estimated street price of $329
About Epson B-500DN
For vivid color at speeds that rival the fastest printers in its class, plus networking flexibility, the Epson B-500DN is the ideal printer for cost-sensitive environments. The printer produces affordable, quality color at a cost-per-page comparable to the cost of black-and-white from competitive models, for student work, administrative reports, presentations, letters, mailers, instructional materials and more. Cost efficiency is the hallmark of the Epson B-500DN with ink costs less than 1 cent per page for black and 3 cents per page for color, when using the highest capacity ink cartridges available for the printer (based on cartridge MSRP divided by ISO page yield)(2). Other features include:
* Ethernet connectivity enables one printer to serve multiple classrooms, labs and administrative offices * Highest yield ink cartridges allow about 8,000 pages (black) and 7,000 pages (color) to be printed before replacement (ISO page yield)(2) * Up to 37 pages per minute (draft) to handle high-volume needs inside a department, workgroup, building or student center(1) * Two paper sources provide a combined capacity of 650 sheets, so teachers and school staff can save time with fewer paper changes * Save paper and stretch budgets with double-sided (duplex) printing * Advanced auto nozzle check system minimizes nozzle clogging automatically * Designed for high-volume printing environments with a monthly duty cycle of 20,000 pages (4,000 recommended)(3) * Estimated street price of $549
Availability and Support
The Epson B-300 and B-500DN will be available in September through education and small business resellers, mail order, catalog and on-line resellers, and Epson's own retail site www.epsonstore.com. Epson business ink jet printers come with a one-year limited warranty in the United States. For more information on the Epson B-300 and B-500DN, or other Epson products, visit www.Epson.com.
About Epson America Inc.
Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, business, photography, and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transaction terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.
Note: Specifications subject to change. Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other products and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks.
(1) PPM speeds measured after first page, based on black and color text patterns in Draft Mode on plain paper. Additional print time will vary based on system configuration, software application and page complexity. See www.epson.com/printspeed for more information about print speeds.
(2) Cost per page is derived from ink cartridge MSRP divided by cartridge yield. Cartridge yields are approximate based on the ISO/IEC 24711 and 24712 standard for ink jet products, which prescribes continuous printing of a suite of five ISO black-and-color patterns and does not measure yields of the first cartridges (which are used for priming the printer). Color yield is an average of all three colors. Actual yields depend on specific use. The B-500DN ships with Standard Capacity ink cartridges in-box, but also accepts High-Capacity and Extra High-Capacity cartridges.
(3) Monthly duty cycle is the highest duty a user could expect in a month, based on near-constant operation of a device of this kind. It is not recommended that the device be run at this duty. For best device performance run the device at the recommended duty.