TOKYO, Japan - Seiko Epson Corporation (TSE: 6724, "Epson") has held a ceremony to launch the construction of a new factory at its Hirooka Office in Shiojiri, Japan. The event was attended by members of the local community, local government, related construction companies and Epson management.

The new factory, which is scheduled to begin operations in the first half of the 2018 fiscal year, is part of the company's mid- to long range strategic plans for its printing solutions (inkjet printer) business. The plant will produce state-of-the-art PrecisionCore printheads, the core devices in Epson's inkjet printers. Epson will conduct R&D and drive advances in production engineering and other areas at the facility, which, in the future, will roughly triple Epson's current printhead production capacity.

As both an R&D and production center for core devices used in the printing solutions business, and the location of Epson's inkjet printer planning and design functions, the Hirooka Office works closely with Epson's production sites worldwide. It shares the advanced production technology and expertise it gains through the development and production of core devices with Epson's overseas production sites to help maximize manufacturing capabilities across the Epson Group. The investment in the new factory is part of Epson's plans to further reinforce its R&D and production platform through the 2020 fiscal year.

Epson's printing solutions business leverages original Micro Piezo inkjet technology to provide products and services to customers in the home, office, commercial, and industrial markets. The new factory will handle the front-end manufacturing process for PrecisionCore printheads, the core devices in Epson's business inkjet printers, high-capacity ink tank printers, and commercial and industrial printers. Epson's high-speed business inkjet printers produce sharp text and outstanding images at a fraction of the cost per print and energy consumption of laser printers. These quality and cost advantages are behind the steady annual growth in demand from the office market. High-capacity ink tank printers meet the needs of customers for low-cost prints with genuine Epson print quality. Initially launched in October 2010, sales of these products had reached as many as 15 million units worldwide as of June 2016. In the commercial and industrial sectors, an accelerating shift from traditional analog printing to digital printing solutions is expected to generate heavy demand for printers used for things such as signage, textiles and product labels.

Epson is committed to continuously enhancing its original technologies and leveraging its original core devices to delight customers with products and services that exceed their expectations.