LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 11 -- Epson America Inc. is debuting
two new six-color photo printers today -- the Epson Stylus Photo R220 and
R340 -- each with a rich set of photo-centric and user-friendly features. The
Epson Stylus Photo R220 is the most affordable six-color photo printer in
Epson's line with a price tag under $100, but is rich in features and quality.
The Epson Stylus Photo R340 is a full-featured, PC-free printer that provides
a convenient 2.4" premium photo viewing monitor and memory card slots.

These new printers share some improvements over the previous products,
such as better color saturation for brighter reds and yellows and automatic
image enhancement for adjusting a photo that is too dark when a subject is
backlit. In addition, both printers offer the capability of printing directly
onto the surface of ink jet printable CDs and DVDs and can now print from the
center to the edge of the CD or DVD with no visible blank space for a cleaner,
more professional look. Epson was the first and still is the only consumer
ink jet printer manufacturer in the U.S. to include CD/DVD printing on its
printers.

"Epson understands that photographs are a crucial part of our customers'
lives and we continually strive to develop high-quality products that make
sharing and preserving these memories simple," said Lowell Wolf, product
manager, Epson. "Whether our customers want to print customized CDs and DVDs
or print beautiful photos to document important memories, the Epson Stylus
Photo R220 and R340 are ideal solutions."

More about the Epson Stylus Photo R220
The Epson Stylus Photo R220 is a six-color printer that offers 5760 x 1440
optimized dpi using ultra fine ink droplets (as small as three picoliters) and
Micro Piezo(R) ink jet technology for precision color and detail. It is the
most affordable ink jet solution available today for printing onto ink jet
printable CDs and DVDs. Customers can easily create customized CDs and DVDs
with personalized text, graphics and photos; and with the printer's convenient
front-loading tray, it's easy and fast.

This printer also offers BorderFree(R) printing in popular, frame-ready
sizes such as 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", and 8.5" x 11", and can print a 4" x
6" lab quality borderless photo in as fast as 57 seconds.*

For added convenience, the Epson Stylus Photo R220 uses individual ink
cartridges and is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh systems.
Additionally, the printer connects to a computer quickly and easily with its
front and back positioned USB ports. The Epson Stylus Photo R220 is currently
available for an estimated street price of $99.

More about the Epson Stylus Photo R340
The EPSON Stylus Photo R340 is a full-featured, versatile, PC-free printer
that offers the same outstanding photo quality and convenient CD/DVD printing
as the Epson Stylus Photo R220. What sets this printer apart is its
high-quality 2.4" LCD preview monitor, which enables customers to select, crop
and print favorite photos in full color without ever having to turn on a
computer.

This printer also has an even more intuitive, user-friendly control panel
with simple on-screen menus, which provide customers with the flexibility to
make selections such as paper type, paper size and number of copies, without
having to use a computer. One of the most convenient features of the new
control panel is Epson's exclusive "print by date" option. This provides
customers with a simple way to find the photos they want to print by selecting
the date they were taken. The panel also gives customers the ability to view
photos with or without on-screen text, view and select photos using thumbnails
and easily select a range of photos for printing.

The Epson Stylus Photo R340 can speed through photos with its fast photo
print speeds, printing a 4" x 6" lab-quality borderless photo in as fast as 57
seconds. The printer also handles text with ease and can produce a black text
document at up to 15 ppm.* With Epson's patented BorderFree photo printing
technology, this printer can deliver beautiful, frame-ready, borderless images
with no borders to trim or perforations to tear in all of the popular sizes,
including 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", and 8.5" x 11".

Other flexible features of the Epson Stylus Photo R340 are the ability to
save images easily to an external CD-R, Zip(R) or Flash memory drive and the
option of direct printing from Bluetooth-enabled phones. The Bluetooth
adapter is currently available for an estimated street price of $69.

This printer is both Macintosh and Windows compatible and offers Hi-Speed
USB 2.0 connectivity. It is available now for an estimated street price of
$199.

Image Quality Enhancements
Both the Epson Stylus Photo R220 and R340 utilize Epson's latest color and
image enhancements, which result in improved quality of prints. One of these
enhancements is better color saturation, resulting in prints that look richer
and brighter and is most noticeable in photos with a large amount of yellow
and red in them.

Another noticeable improvement on the printers is the ability to
automatically detect when a photo is too dark such as a photo that contains a
subject with a bright background behind it. Normally, in this case, the
subject would be dark with the background showing up bright. With the Epson
Stylus Photo R220 and R340, the subject will be adjusted and brightened. This
automatic image enhancement feature will correct a photo that most customers
would otherwise delete or choose not to print.

Ink and Media for the Epson Stylus Photo R220 and R340
The Epson Stylus Photo R220 and R340 utilize individual ink cartridges, a
practical solution which offers customers more control to replace only the
color of ink that runs out. With the combination of Epson's exclusive ink
technology and high-quality, value-priced papers, customers can reap the
benefits of an affordable home printing solution. Furthermore, Epson's fast
and convenient quick-drying inks produce prints that are immediately dry to
the touch and water-resistant on Epson Premium Photo Papers.

Availability, Warranty and Support
The Epson Stylus Photo R220 and R340 will be available in major computer,
office and electronic superstores, a variety of retail stores nationwide and
can also be purchased through mail order, the Internet and on the Epson retail
Web site (http://www.epsonstore.com). The models are backed by a one-year Epson
Limited Warranty and are supported by the EPSON Connection(SM), a customer
support and technical assistance line. For more information on Epson and its
products, call 1-800-GO-EPSON or visit http://www.epson.com.

Epson's Environmental Commitment
The Epson Stylus Photo R220 and R340 have earned the ENERGY STAR by
meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Epson offers a range of
ENERGY STAR products. Epson encourages consumers to save energy by selecting
ENERGY STAR products.

About Epson
Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image
output products for the consumer, business, photography, and graphic arts
markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale
(POS) printers and transaction terminals for the retail market. Founded in
1975, Epson America, Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson
Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology
products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness,
systems integration, and energy efficiency. Epson America, Inc. is
headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.

Note: Specifications subject to change. Epson, Epson Stylus and Micro
Piezo are registered trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. BorderFree is a
registered trademark of Epson America, Inc. Epson Connection is a service mark
of Epson America, Inc. Third party brand or product names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.

* Black pages per minute based on text memo in Draft Mode on plain
paper. Borderless color photo in Photo Mode on Epson Premium Glossy
Photo Paper. Additional processing time will vary based on system
configuration, software application and page complexity.