CC image courtesy of Denis Gomes Franco
According to Epson the move is part of the company’s low cost, high quality strategy and will allow the expansion of its ink tank system printer range.
Epson regional sales manager for East Africa Mukesh Bector says the strategy is further expected to fight counterfeit products associated with fake inks and refill systems while providing home and corporate users with affordable and reliable printing.
“We’ve listened to customer feedback on our current ink tank system printers and what they want from their printing. By stopping the sales of ink cartridge printers in markets with strong ink tank system sales, we will be able to strengthen our commitment to offering ultra-low-cost printing, while maintaining the kind of print quality that our customers expect from us,” said Bektor.
This year the company has added eight new models to the ink tank built in range including the Epson L series - L550/L355/L300/L210L/L110 - and the Epson WorkForce M series - M200/M105/M100.
Epson says its new range of printers can print at a cost of KSh0.85 per page in black and white or KSh425 (approx. $5) per ream of 500 sheets in the L series, with the M series printing at as low as KSh170 (approx. $2) per ream of 500 sheets.
Bector said the company will focus on wireless connectivity and the Epson iPrint this year.
“2013 is an important year for us, as we strengthen our range with more ink tank system models, offering more features. Wireless connectivity and Epson iPrint, for example, are just a few that we’ve included, as well as offering our very first mono ink tank system printers,” he said.