Epson launching its new line of A4 and A3 100PPM and 75PPM line of enterprise MFP

[copiertec]

Epson is launching a new line of enterprise printers the A4 100 PPM LX-10000F and the 75 PPM LX-7000F A3 color inkjet MFP. I have read articles on these MFP's and they are pretty impressive. Epson wants is to take over the laser market with these inkjet MFP's. I also notice that Xerox and Canon have developed this technology as well, for example, the Canon Typhoon series. I wonder if this is the wave of the future for printing? I also read an article on a process where a company is developing ink-less printing as well. What are your thoughts on these new MFPs? I wonder if inkjet technology will overtake laser technology... eventually? These Enterprise series of MFP's are essentially floor standing copiers with all the capabilities of it's laser counterparts.

[blackcat4866]

There are so many reasons why inkjet technology sucks.

It's dirty, spraying ink all over the nearby mechanical parts, and working like glue instead of lubricant.

It's inefficient. A lot of ink gets pumped right through to the waste container, used mainly as solvent to keep the nozzles clean. Maybe that's part of the solution: Add a solvent reservoir specifically for clearing clogged printheads.

Cost: How about these $800 printheads on the Canon iPF's? The replacement printhead for my desktop Canon inkjet cost more than the whole printer. Maybe a cleaning station could be built into the device to flush printheads periodically, and save on replacement.

=^..^=

[brucewillis88]

There are so many reasons why inkjet technology sucks.

It's dirty, spraying ink all over the nearby mechanical parts, and working like glue instead of lubricant.

It's inefficient. A lot of ink gets pumped right through to the waste container, used mainly as solvent to keep the nozzles clean. Maybe that's part of the solution: Add a solvent reservoir specifically for clearing clogged printheads.

Cost: How about these $800 printheads on the Canon iPF's? The replacement printhead for my desktop Canon inkjet cost more than the whole printer. Maybe a cleaning station could be built into the device to flush printheads periodically, and save on replacement.

=^..^=

This is an interesting post, and while you capture a lot of the challenged the inkjet engineers have to solve. If you attend Drupa you'll see that inkjet has come a long way and for a long list of reasons, it will eat up the toner market.

I was invited to the LA unveiling and philly unveiling. Looks like I'll be going to the Philadelphia unveiling so I'll report more after seeing it. I know more but cant say anything because of NDA.

Firstly, the iPF series is not like what we're discussing. Tractor inkjet is passe - modern inkjet is a wide stationary head that images the sheet while it passes by. Must faster. You're right to complain about ink since it's got a lot of potential for being messy and gunking up components. However, modern inkjet systems like KM1, Memjet, and the new Epson line mentioned above have highly refined ink systems that are sealed up very well. Inks come in bladders with positive valves etc.

In this category heads last the lifetime of the press and cleaning/flushing have been integrated. If there are head failures, they can be replaced but failure is usually due to mishandling rather than end-of-life.

Print buyers are pulling this technology because of its cost potential. Charged toner with drums will never be as cheap as ink on paper. The devil is in the details and the engineering valley between concept and final product is a lot deeper than what was anticipated. But we are very close across the whole spectrum. The Epson products tackle the small laser market and Benny Landa is set to upset the commercial sheetfed, web and package printing markets with Nanography.

[copiertec]

[QUOTE=brucewillis88;556307]This is an interesting post, and while you capture a lot of the challenged the inkjet engineers have to solve. If you attend Drupa you'll see that inkjet has come a long way and for a long list of reasons, it will eat up the toner market.

I was invited to the LA unveiling and philly unveiling. Looks like I'll be going to the Philadelphia unveiling so I'll report more after seeing it. I know more but cant say anything because of NDA.

Firstly, the iPF series is not like what we're discussing. Tractor inkjet is passe - modern inkjet is a wide stationary head that images the sheet while it passes by. Must faster. You're right to complain about ink since it's got a lot of potential for being messy and gunking up components. However, modern inkjet systems like KM1, Memjet, and the new Epson line mentioned above have highly refined ink systems that are sealed up very well. Inks come in bladders with positive valves etc.

In this category heads last the lifetime of the press and cleaning/flushing have been integrated. If there are head failures, they can be replaced but failure is usually due to mishandling rather than end-of-life.

Print buyers are pulling this technology because of its cost potential. Charged toner with drums will never be as cheap as ink on paper. The devil is in the details and the engineering valley between concept and final product is a lot deeper than what was anticipated. But we are very close across the whole spectrum. The Epson products tackle the small laser market and Benny Landa is set to upset the commercial sheetfed, web and package printing markets with Nanography.

Thank you for your response. Let me know how the unveiling goes.