Epson targets students to sustain market lead

Japanese printing solutions maker, Epson Philippines Corporation is targeting the low-end market, especially the students and home users, to sustain its leadership in printer product distribution in the Philippines.

The price positioning strategy for its high-speed and quality printers in the Philippines is expected to pull up further Epson's market in the country, especially in the introduction of five new printer models, designed for budget-savvy consumers.

Epson Philippines, a digital imaging company, recently launched its five new printer models in Cebu, these products are expected to gain interest from the students, and small business-home owners markets in the Philippines, said Don Navarro, Epson consumer product management head.

In the consumer printing products, Epson holds about 30 percent to 40 percent market share in the Philippines, this despite the entry of more printer brands.

Of the five new printers introduced in Philippine market, two are now being aggressively pushed in the low-end market, the C59 Stylus and the C79 printers.

The new Epson Stylus C59, offers home users unparalleled value-for-money proposition complemented by high quality print outs and new low-priced inks.

He said by using Epson's new economical inks, users can expect low operating costs in the long run. Aside from the attractive pricing, the Epson Stylus C59 features the INKdividual ink cartridge system. As compared to the need to change the full set of inks, users can achieve more savings by replacing the color which has run out.

Despite the low running cost, users can also be assured that there is no compromise on quality or speed of prints. The new inks are powered by Espon's high performance Micro-Piezo-print head system and variable sized droplet technology (VSDT) which is capable of providing technical prints.

Aside from affordability, Navarro said the Epson Stylus 59 also features the capability to achieve print speeds of up to 22 pages per minute (ppm) for black text printouts and 12 ppm for color printouts.

Epson Stylus C79 on the other hand, is a single function printer, which delivers outstanding printouts. With the DURABrite Ultra inks, cutting edge print technology and software all integrated in this neat designed printer.

Targeted at the advanced home users, the Espon Stylus C79 is the only printer in its class to use Espon's INKdividual DURABrite Ultra Inks to deliver superior image quality with unmatched durability.

DURABrite Ultra inks, is one of the leading standard for inks, it ensures lifetime durability of up to 120 years, with water and smudge-resistance.

Epson's Stylus C59 and C79 are pegged at P2,695 and P3,995 respectively, through the company's authorized resellers and dealers. The ink for the C59 is priced at P295 per cartridge while the C79 is P449 per cartridge.

Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, projectors and LCDs. Led by Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the group has consolidated sales of 1479.7 billion yen in fiscal 2004.