SINGAPORE, 20 July 2004 - Offering office-class productivity at an affordable cost, Epson launched today the Epson Stylus CX6500, as an enhanced all-in-one device with high-speed printing, precision scanning and PC-less full-featured copying capabilities. Combining efficiency and performance, the Epson Stylus CX6500 boasts an amazing 22 ppm print speed, delivers smudge-free, water-resistant plain paper output and photo-quality printouts with DURABrite inks as well as a total copy solution with its rich and full-featured copy functions. With a smaller outer casing than its counterparts, this all-in-one device is an attractive proposition for the space-conscious consumer.

"The Epson Stylus CX6500 truly is an all-rounder that offers office-class performance and productivity at a price that's hard to beat," said Mr Siew Jin Kiat, Manager, Digital Image, Epson Singapore Pte Ltd. "With numerous input options like high speed printing, varied copy functions and our cost-saving DURABrite Inkdividual cartridges, we are confident SMEs and SOHO consumers will find the Epson Stylus CX6500 the most complete, full featured and cost-effective all-in-one device available today."

Boost Productivity with Print Efficiency, Cost Savings and High Performance
Priced at $378, the Epson Stylus CX6500's prints up to 22 pages a minute (ppm) for black text and 11 ppm for colour text with a top resolution of 5760 x 1440 optimised dpi, and a Ultra Micro Droplet size of just 3 pico-litres. Apart from 4R BorderFree printing, it also prints A4 BorderFree printouts. This exceptional throughput is made possible thanks to a wider 1 inch head that makes fewer passes to cover the same area than a printer with a smaller print head. Its Micro Piezo 3 pico-litre VSDT print head can print a 4R photo in just 76 seconds.

Using DURABrite ink, the Epson Stylus CX6500 delivers high print efficiency by offering users the option of printing beautiful photographs and crisp black text documents on plain paper instead of more costly specialty media.

DURABrite is a pigment based ink that is quick drying and does not bleed or feather on even plain paper.  It is water resistant against liquid spills, has a lightfastness rating of up to 80 years on Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight.  It produces outstanding colours on a myriad of media, and also delivers superb crisp and sharp black text.

By eliminating the need to stock up on special photo papers, office users can use simply use DURABrite ink to achieve high-quality, durable output for both documents and photos on plain paper. But if glossier photo reproductions are needed, DURABrite Ink's more vivid colours are optimized for Epson DURABrite Photo Paper.  This media flexibility is not only convenient; it also saves time with its versatile media handling capabilities.

Additional cost savings are achievable with DURABrite INKdividual cartridges which allow you to replace only depleted individual cartridges. A Black Ink Save mode offers a further cost saving with a composite black option-made by mixing the remaining cyan, magenta and yellow inks-when the black ink cartridge runs low.

Comprehensive, PC-Less Colour Copying
The Epson Stylus CX6500 can function as a full-featured standalone copier that warms up almost instantly for the most demanding office users or individuals with busy workloads. 

Offering three copy modes, users can make copies of documents in Standard mode (3mm border), Small Margin mode (1.5mm) and BorderFree mode for a variety of output options. A Poster Copy mode copies 4, 9 or 16 enlarged parts of an original onto single, A4 or letter-sized sheets separately to create a large poster when pieced together.

Other intelligent features include; Auto-Fit for enlargements/ reductions without manual calculations; Repeat Copy mode to copy multiple originals including photographs onto a single sheet of paper; 2-up/4-up Copy mode for reductions on a single sheet to save on paper; and Zoom mode for copying a pre-defined area of an original. And with its paper tray holding 120 sheets of paper, multiple copies can be made easily.

To further enhance the user-friendliness of the PC-less copying functions, the Epson Stylus Photo CX6500 also sprouts an easy to navigate LCD control panel that simplifies access to functions by reducing the number of menus. The new navigation system will light up the relevant function buttons in the associated mode (scan, print or copy) so you can confirm it intuitively. This eliminates additional steps in the menus and speeds up operation.

Highly Accurate Scans
The Epson Stylus CX6500 also features a high end scanner that has an optical resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi and 48-colour depth for rich colour expression while accurately capturing even minute details from photos and documents. The included Epson Scan driver offers one-click Colour Restoration functionality to refresh faded colour originals to their former glory.

Direct Memory Card Photo Printing
Built-in memory card slots offer versatile input options on the Epson Stylus CX6500. It supports all memory card formats-Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory Stick, IBM Microdrive, SD Memory Card, MMC and xD-Picture Card-so that users can print directly from stored files without external card adapters or PCs. The card slots can also perform read and write functions via a PC, and can save scanned images directly onto the cards in JPEG format. For greater convenience, the Epson Stylus CX6500 supports Photo Index Sheet printing. Users can print an index of photos, select the desired image by shading the index sheet, and scan for instant print of selected photographs.

Intuitive Controls & Software
Other software tools included are: Epson PhotoQuicker 3.5 for easy printing of photos, BorderFree prints, and mobile phone images; PRINT Image Framer (PIF) 2.1 and PIF Designer 2.1 for creative and fun photo frames; Epson WebPage toolbar for optimizing web pages for print; Arcsoft PhotoImpression 5.0 for image editing, and Abby FineReader 5.0 for OCR capabilities. Exclusive Disney frames are now included in the PRINT Image Framer (PIF) 2.1 software for added fun and excitement in the whole printing experience.

The Epson Stylus CX6500 supports USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) for fast scanning and quick image data transfer, and is compatible with Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, Macintosh OS 9.1 or later and Macintosh OS X 10.2 or later. The Epson Stylus CX6500 will be available at all Epson authorised dealers.

About Epson
Epson is the world's leading digital imaging solutions provider and printer manufacturer. Epson Singapore Pte Ltd is the South East Asia and South Asia sales and marketing headquarters for Japan's Seiko Epson Corporation. The company markets and supports Epson printers, scanners, LCD multimedia projectors, digital cameras and other high-technology products in more than 10 countries in South East Asia and South Asia.

About Epson Group
The Epson Group increases its corporate value through its innovative and creative culture. Dedicated to providing its customers with digital image innovation, its main product lines comprise information-related equipment such as printers and projectors, electronic devices including displays, semiconductors and quartz devices, and precision products such as watches. Epson products are known throughout the world for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency. The Epson Group is a network of 73,797 employees in 114 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., which is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Group had consolidated sales of 1,322 billion yen in fiscal 2002.