Company History

May 1942

Daiwa Kogyo Ltd. (the predecessor of Seiko Epson Corporation) is established on the shore of Lake Suwa in Nagano, Japan.

Sept 1968

EP-101, the world's first miniprinter, is launched, from which the Epson brand was later born.

1970

The SAM-D samarium-cobalt rare-earth bonded magnet becomes the progenitor of Epson's (known as Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd.) magnet business.

Jul 1975

In 1975, Epson (Son of EP or Electronic Printer) was formally established as the next generation of printers based on the EP-101.

Jul 1978

The SVM 7910 electronic sound-generating device is introduced and is the world's first melody IC. Later used in the Seiko Electronic Melodia, a quartz alarm clock that could produce three types of electronic sounds.

Jul 1982

The world's first hand-held computer, the HX-20, was created and became an astonishing bestseller, with one-quarter of a million units sold.

1983

The SSR-H series of industrial robots is introduced and is widely used for assembling watches and printers, and for packaging semiconductors.

Oct 1984

SQ-2000, the first commercial Epson inkjet printer, is released.

1987

The SG-615 plastic SMD crystal oscillator is introduced and becomes the industry standard.

Jan 1989

The first Epson brand 3LCD projector, the VPJ-700, is introduced - giving the world a new application for liquid crystal displays.

1992

Seiko Epson receives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award in recognition of its contribution to eliminate ozone-depleting substances from all manufacturing processes.

May 1994

Epson successfully develops the world's first 720dpi color inkjet printer, the Epson Stylus Color.

1996

Epson develops six-color, photo quality printer (EPSON Stylus® Color Photo).

1998

The TM-H5000, Epson's first hybrid printer is released. Featuring fast, quiet printing and copy functionality.

2002

Epson receives the Corporate Innovation Recognition Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE).

2003

Epson expands its line of home entertainment products by introducing the Powerlite Home Cinema 10, 200 and 500 Projectors.

2004

Epson Introduces the RD-1, the world's first rangefinder digital camera.

2006

Epson introduces the EMP-6100, a dust-proof projector that keeps particulate matter at bay.

2008

Epson enters the sheet-fed document scanner market with the launch of the affordable and compact GT-S50 and GT-S80 desktop scanners.

2009

The ULTIMICRON, a high-temperature polysilicon TFT color LCD panel for electronic viewfinders, is developed.

2011

The TM-T88V-i series of receipt printers is introduced – allowing wireless printing from any computer, smartphone or tablet, regardless of the operating system.

2012

The Epson IProjection app launches to Apple App Store and Google Play store.

2013

Epson introduces the F2000 Direct to Garment Printer.

2013

Epson Announces PrecisionCore™, a new printhead technology that merges Epson's expertise in high-precision MEMS manufacturing with breakthroughs in material science.

June 2014

Epson unveils the all new WorkForce Series powered by PrecisionCore^®. These groundbreaking business all-in-ones and printers feature innovative printhead technology for performance beyond laser.

Jan 2015

Epson reveals at CES the revolutionary M-Tracer Golf Swing Analyzer, a light-weight, club-mounted tool designed to help make positive changes to a golfer's game by providing instant access to swing data via a mobile app.

Sept 2016

Epson introduced the FastFoto^™ high-speed photo scanning system. This innovative new photo scanner and custom software help you preserve what’s priceless by quickly scanning your photo collection in a whole new way.