On July 25th, Nuance Communications, Inc., and Seiko Epson Corporation announced a worldwide strategic partnership to enhance the Epson customer experience by providing Nuance document imaging solutions through Epson distributors and resellers. According to Epson, this new partnership brings together the low running costs, reduced intervention and environmental impact as well as the high reliability of their printers, with the ability to securely control and manage print and capture to enhance productivity, while reducing operating expenses for their customers.
Under the new partnership, Epson will sell and distribute Nuance eCopy ShareScan and Equitrac Office/Express software on their family of inkjet MFPs including the high-speed WorkForce Enterprise WF-C20590 (launched in Spring 2017)http://client.keypointintelligence.com/bliQ/InfoCenter/Document/Item/52413605-84e7-47cd-9f6a-a5e10fb45b1d and LX -10000/7000 series of linehead technology for SMB and corporate workgroups.
In addition, Epson will also integrate the Nuance Omnipage SDK and Epson scanning applications for better OCR accuracy within document workflows and will bundle Nuance’s Power PDF software with a select line of Epson document scanners.
| Epson products | Nuance products | Nuance products | Nuance products |
| WorkForce Enterprise/Pro Printers | Equitrac Office Express | Equitrac Express | eCopy ShareScan |
| Document Scanners | OmniPage Capture SDK | PowerPDF |
At the event, Epson also announced a new commercial document scanner, the DS-410, complete with a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, duplex scanning and 26ppm/52 ipm scan speeds. It offers support for ISIS and TWAIN drivers for seamless integration into most document management software along with a three year limited warranty. According to Mark Pickard, Senior Product Manager of Scanners, the DS-410 is ideal for environments that require a fast and flexible document scanning solution that provides paper-intensive businesses an affordable solution to save, store and protect critical documents. The DS-410 is available today through select resellers and distributors nationwide at a MSRP of $379.
In addition to the new scanner and partnership announcement, Epson also showcased products from their commercial and enterprise divisions as well as new wearable technologies that will be available later this year.
In 2016 Seiko Epson Japan completed the building of a new factory for producing inkjet print heads. According to Epson, they invested 3.4 billion yen (approx. 30B dollars) to construct the new factory which they believe will triple their current inkjet print-head production capacity. The print heads produced at the new factory are the core devices used in Epson’s high-capacity ink-tank printers and business-inkjet printers. Epson’s strategy is to go after the toner office market with high-speed inkjet technology, similar to what HP has done with their inkjet page-wide array technology, and disrupt the traditional toner-based channels. Ultimately, Epson is seeking to engineer a shift from laser to inkjet printing in the office, to generate mid- to long-term profit growth.
In addition, Epson is expanding their channel partner relationships promotion the value propositions of business inkjet to compete head to head with office laser A3 MFPs and the Nuance partnership can only strengthen that expansion by opening up new revenue opportunities. According to InfoTrends most recent Network Document Solutions forecast, the Capture and Workflow Solutions area is expected to grow at a 4.2% CAGR through 2020. Furthermore, Business Inkjet is poised for market growth and is expected to grow at a 6.2% CAGR as a new breed of high-end inkjet models enters the market. The timing is right for this partnership and, if executed properly, can be a win-win for both companies.