Epson Increases Production of Ink Bottles for High-Capacity Ink Tank Printers

In 2010, Epson launched sales of high-capacity ink tank printers in emerging markets to meet the need in these markets for low-cost prints with genuine Epson print quality. The company progressively rolled out sales and today also sells these printers in the Middle East. Unit shipments worldwide in the 2014 fiscal year (ended March 31, 2015) were strong, showing 40% year-on-year growth, and the company foresees even higher demand in the home and office markets.

Figure: High-capacity ink tank printer unit shipments (as of January 31, 2016)

The popularity of Epson's high-capacity ink tank printers is fueling demand for large ink bottles, which are used for ink refills. An Epson manufacturing affiliate in Indonesia is supporting this supply by increasing ink bottle production so that customers never have to worry about running out of ink.

Producing ink bottles of stable quality at high speed requires automated solutions. Automation has proved to be a boon to ink bottle production, sharply increasing productivity. Among the many tasks automated are the weighing of ink, the attachment of ID labels to ensure traceability, and the bottle capping process.

Epson has programs in place to develop the technical skills and deepen the manufacturing acumen of employees. Among these are skills certification programs and a training program in which employees are sent for an extended period of time to train at Epson's ink cartridge development and production sites in Japan. These programs have also enabled Epson's local employees to contribute in various ways to the development of human capital. For example, as workplace leaders they provide technical instruction and mentorship to others. They have also taken charge of educating interns from technical high schools.

Programs such as these that promote the development of local employees are demonstrably strengthening manufacturing capabilities and will lead to improved productivity in the future.

Khalil El-Dalu, General Manager, Epson Middle East, said, "We are able to serve more customers by designing and building sophisticated automated systems that raise productivity. We will continue to improve our production processes, and raise the technical skills of the team with the ultimate objective of providing our customers with a stable supply of high quality products into the future."