LONG BEACH, Calif.- Sept. 4, 2001--     It's the fastest Epson four-color desktop printer ever made and produces vibrant, detailed prints with an entirely new level of durability -- even on plain paper.      Positioned to become one of the company's most popular products in its 26-year history, the new EPSON Stylus(R) C80 color ink jet printer combines speed with new inks that are water resistant and light resistant, all for a price of $149 (following a $30 mail-in rebate).      Newly designed from the ground up, the EPSON Stylus C80 uses an advanced high-speed print engine that delivers up to 20 pages per minute (ppm) of black text printing and up to 10 ppm color. The printer is also engineered for lower cost-per-page operation by using an efficient high-capacity individual color ink cartridge system and by delivering an even higher level of print quality on plain or recycled papers than other previous models.      "This printer is engineered to meet the needs of pretty much any person with a computer including today's fast-paced business people, small office and home users, government employees and educational offices -- just to name a few," said Steve Semos, senior product manager, consumer ink jet printers, Epson. "Based on the Stylus C80's combination of low price, speed, whisper-quiet 42 dB engine, durable output and excellent image quality, we feel this product will be our most popular ink jet printer to date."     New EPSON DuraBrite Inks and Individual Cartridges     The Stylus C80 is the first and only printer to use Epson's new DuraBrite(TM) ink technology. These pigment-based inks are engineered to produce durable, detailed output on a variety of media, with resolutions up to 2880 x 720 dots per inch. Unlike prints from traditional dye-based inks, output from DuraBrite color and black inks can be submerged in water without the ink coming off the page. This feature is designed to give creators of fliers, menus, signs, postcards and almost any other printed output the ability to produce documents and images that will withstand damage caused by moisture-based threats such as rain, spills or people with wet hands.     DuraBrite inks also have a light-resistance rating of up to 70 years(a), making it possible to safely place prints in areas where bright light would normally cause images to fade quickly. Furthermore, bleed-through is reduced since EPSON DuraBrite inks don't soak deep into the paper -- an ideal benefit for users wanting bright-colored images on non-coated media such as plain paper.     The EPSON Stylus C80 includes four separate "snap-in/snap-out" ink cartridges to maximize ink yield -- one extra-large black ink cartridge and three color ink cartridges (cyan, yellow and magenta). Since these individual color inks can be replaced at any time, efficiency is maximized, lowering the total cost of ownership. Each cartridge also contains a chip that relays ink level information on screen to the user via the printer driver, while self-sealing valves preserve the inks up to six months once removed from the printer. Therefore, reinserted cartridges that haven't been fully depleted can be reinserted for later use.     Resolution Performance Management     The EPSON Stylus C80 includes a series of new printing technologies referred to as Resolution Performance Management (RPM) for improved overall image quality. Special algorithms are used to automatically smooth the edges of low-resolution graphics often found in Web pages and low-resolution digital photos. The Stylus C80 also has the ability to automatically alternate levels of resolutions on each print for an ideal mix of image quality and speed. Up to three droplet sizes (as small as three picoliters) are used simultaneously to place ink more precisely on the paper resulting in laser-sharp text, greater detail, brighter colors and sharper images.     Heavy Duty, Multi-Platform Printing     The EPSON Stylus C80 is capable of large-quantity printing when needed. The printer's paper input tray holds up to 150 sheets of 20-pound paper at a time, reducing the number of times a user will need to refill the tray during a large print job. It also has the capacity to print as many as 5,000 sheets per month as a result of the Stylus C80's advanced mechanics. Additionally, the Stylus C80 offers both USB and parallel connectivity for simultaneous using either Macintosh or Windows platforms.     Wireless and Network Connectivity     Recent breakthroughs in wireless technology protocols have led to the creation of a similar printer called the EPSON Stylus C80WN. This printer offers the same features as the Stylus C80 with the addition of a wireless Ethernet 802.11b print server that supports multiple network protocols. Users can print to the wireless EPSON Stylus C80WN through an access point or directly from a PC or Mac equipped with an 802.11b wireless adapter. As a result, users can transfer information from their computer to the printer up to 300 feet in distance at speeds as fast as 11 megabits per second. The EPSON Stylus C80WN will sell for $399 (following a $50 mail-in rebate) and will be available in late-September 2001.     Wired local area network users will be able to take advantage of a similar model called the EPSON Stylus C80N. Once again, this printer will offer the same features found in the Stylus C80 with the addition of an EpsonNet External 10/100Mbit Print Server accessory to connect the printer to a wired LAN. The EPSON Stylus C80N will sell for $349 and will be available in November 2001.