The Software Team has a long history working with many divisions in Seiko-Epson to produce a wide range of innovative software products. Our latest projects involve providing printing services over the Internet so that EPSON's customers can create printable content using only a web brower.
Our first project, Web Print 1.0, was successfully launched at the end of
last year in
After completing Web Print 1.0, the software group completed the Internet
based large format printing system, supporting EPSON's wide format printers -
the LP-9000 and the LP-7000. This system allows businesses in
All our Internet projects are developed using Java on both the client and server. Because Java's dream of write once, run anywhere is not quite reality, we have also developed a number of small native code components to deal with limitations of Java and web browsers.
The software group is now working to implement Web Print 2.0 but since it has not been yet released we cannot yet provide any details. Please check back later because we will update our web site as soon as the new version is released to the public.
Software Group Projects
Web Print
Digital Camera Software
Large Format Printing System
Large Format Printing Image Database Management System
Scan/Print/Shoot Demonstration System
Other
Web Print
With the growing popularity of the Internet, the software team at ASD worked
closely with EPSON Hanbai to release Web Print, a Java-based program for
creating greeting cards over the Internet. The Web Print system was introduced
in
Digital Camera Software
EPSON is now a major supplier of digital cameras worldwide, and software developed by the Software Team has been shipped with every camera since the EPSON PhotoPC 500. Our work includes:
- EPSON Photo!2. This application transfers pictures to and from the camera, manages the pictures on the user's computer, and controls the camera settings.
- EPSON Photo!2 TWAIN. TWAIN is an industry standard used by graphics applications to transfer pictures from the camera or disk.
- Camera Program Uploader. EPSON digital cameras are unique in that optional programs can be uploaded into the camera to add additional features. For example, the direct print program allows the camera to be directly connected to EPSON printers when the program is uploaded into the camera. The camera program uploader allows the user to upload new programs into the camera or delete programs already running in the camera.
- Software Development Kit (SDK). The software development kit provides an OCX control for Windows systems and a shared library for Macintosh systems to allow third party developers to quickly create unique applications for the EPSON digital cameras.
- Anti-Tampering Software. The Software Team worked closely with the Algorithm Team to provide this system that allows companies to verify that pictures taken in EPSON cameras have not been modified. The system has three levels of security depending on the needs of the customer.
- Camera Printer Driver. The camera printer driver looks like a printer to Windows systems so that any application can "print" a document into the camera. Since EPSON cameras can be easily connected to a television or LCD projector, the camera becomes an easy-to-carry presentation device.
The digital camera software supports Windows and Macintosh systems and has been localized for worldwide release.
Large Format Printing System
Large Format Printers, such as the EPSON Stylus Pro 7000 and 9000 have a wide range of uses, such as printing advertizing banners. The large amounts of data required to print a large image at a high resolution require a lot of storage space on the end user's machine, and the availability of specialized software for printing banners on roll paper are limited. The software team at ASD worked with EPSON Hanbai and EPSON Kowa to develop a system for creating banners over the internet. This system consists of a Java editor, an ActiveX installation and launching module, and an ActiveX printing module. Image content for the banners is supplied from a centralized server via a high-speed downstream internet connection.
Large Format Printing Image Database Management System
The ASD Software Team developed an Image Database Management System for the Large Format Printing System. This system allows the administrator to remotely manage the image database for the Large Format Printing system from any computer connected to the internet. Enabled by Java Server Pages (JSP) technology, the administrator can easily browse the image database through an HTML-like interface. After logging in with username and password, the administrator selects which image database he or she wishes to manage. The interface shows the administrator a thumbnail of each image in the database, as well as the category of the image, the dimensions of the image, and the keywords associated with the image. These keywords are used in the text-based image searching feature of the Large Format Printing system. The administrator can view the image at full size. The administrator can also change the category of the image and edit the keywords associated with the image. The images are presented in sorted order. The administrator can choose to sort the images by category or by filename. Changes to the database are not saved until the administrator chooses to commit.
Scan/Shoot/Print Demonstration System
The Scan/Shoot/Print Demonstration system is a nicely designed retail display used to demonstrate EPSON products. The key features of this system are:
- Voice instructions.
- Support for EPSON scanners, cameras, and printers.
- The printed pages can be easily changed using a simple scripting language.
The system has been tested in a limited trial at retail locations and trade shows.
Other Projects
We are working on a number of other projects with engineering groups in