Epson today announced that its Replaceable Ink Pack System (RIPS) technology had been recognized by Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI), a leading provider of independent information to the imaging industry, with the Outstanding Achievement in Innovation Award for the summer 2015 test season. The awards are made to companies that provide something new to the market and set new standards and goals to which others can aspire.

Used with Epson's acclaimed series of WorkForce Pro Replaceable Ink Pack Printers, RIPS technology solves many of the issues associated with office printing by using super-high-yield ink supply units for printing up to 75,000^* pages between ink changes. The result of this is less wasted time and resources, and predictable print costs.

In its citation, BLI noted that printers using the technology achieved:

• Phenomenally high tested yields for all colors.
• Ultra-long-life consumables, which help maintain office productivity and reduce pain points for IT administration.
• User-friendly replacement and maintenance procedures.
• Compact and low waste packaging advantage, which will suit space-constrained office environments.

"The super-high ink yields offered by the Epson RIPS are a game-changer in the office marketplace, drastically reducing office user consumable replacement frequencies and negating the need for spare sets of toners or inks on site which take up valuable space," noted David Sweetnam, BLI's director of research and lab services in Europe. "The ultra-long life supplies will also be an attractive proposition for suppliers offering 'all inclusive' contracts, greatly reducing logistics costs and headaches associated with keeping clients stocked with supplies at all times."

"We are proud to receive the BLI 'Outstanding Achievement in Innovation' award for WorkForce Pro RIPS," said Yoshiro Nagafusa, general manager for printer sales at Seiko Epson. "According to BLI's independent tests, WorkForce Pro RIPS models can deliver up to 75,000 pages of uninterrupted high-quality print without the need to replace consumables, in addition to using far less energy and generating less waste than laser competitors.

"Epson believes that inkjet printing now demonstrates clear advantages over laser in the office, and offers efficiencies to businesses of all sizes. We will continue to promote this shift," commented Nagafusa.

BLI also named the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-8590 as this summer's Outstanding A3 Low- to Mid-Volume Business Inkjet All-in-One, and the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-R8590 as the Outstanding A3 Mid- to High-Volume Business Inkjet All-in-One.

^* Using an A3 model. Yields are based on simulations generated after testing with ISO/IEC24711 measurement methodology using ISO/IEC 24712 patterns and calculated using Epson's methodology. Yields may vary for reasons including images printed, documents printed, printing frequency and printing environment.