Epson Joins Mopria Alliance to Drive a Simplified Mobile Printing Experience

LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Epson today announced it has joined the Mopria™ Alliance, a global non-profit membership organization working to promote the expansion of mobile printing. The Alliance was formed to bring together the mobile, software and print industries with the goal of aligning standards that ensure printing is universally compatible from any mobile device to any printer, anywhere.

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"Mobile device users expect both innovation and ease of use. That's why Epson is honored to join a historic collaboration of printer and technology leaders to meet this challenge and continue to make mobile printing both easy and intuitive," said Patrick Chen, product manager of mobile connectivity, Epson America, Inc. "The Mopria Alliance is dedicated to advancing mobile printing standards that allow developers an easier way to integrate printing into their apps and, most importantly, allow users to conveniently print regardless of brand, device or operating system."

With an estimated 50 billion connected devices by 2020¹, the Mopria Alliance is focused on making wireless printing from smartphones, tablets and other devices simple and standardized.  Primary focus areas for the Alliance include:

• Breaking down barriers between brands by eliminating the need for users to download multiple print solutions (print drivers)
• Creating a better, easier and more accessible user experience for mobile printing
• Using Mopria as a way to educate consumers and businesses on the ease-of-use of mobile printing
• Influencing the development and adoption of standards for mobile printing
• Providing an open environment and tools for application developers to incorporate print into mobile applications

In addition, the just announced Mopria Plug-in for KitKat complements the new core print feature in Android OS 4.4 enabling easy printing from Android-based mobile devices to many brands of printers. Epson will be working to offer support for the Mopria KitKat plug-in and other Mopria standards.

For additional insight regarding Epson's work with the Mopria Alliance and the benefits of its mobile initiatives for end users, visit the Epson Connect blog. More information about the Mopria Alliance is available online at www.mopria.org, and for details on Epson's current suite of Epson Connect™ mobile printing solutions, visit www.epson.com/connect.

About the Mopria Alliance:
The Mopria Alliance is a non-profit membership organization of leading global technology companies with the shared goal of providing intuitively simple wireless printing from smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. The Mopria Alliance's goal is to bring together the entire industry to drive selected standards adoption, support mobile software application providers to deploy print functionality in their applications, develop experience guidelines in the interaction of mobile and print devices, certify products which will carry the Mopria logo and educate consumers and business customers about the ability to easily print from mobile devices.

About Epson
Epson is a global innovation leader whose product lineup ranges from inkjet printers and printing systems, 3LCD projectors and industrial robots to sensors and other microdevices. Dedicated to exceeding the vision of its customers worldwide, Epson delivers customer value based on compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies in markets spanning enterprise and the home to commerce and industry.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 73,000 employees in 94 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates. Epson America, Inc. based in Long Beach, Calif. is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: www.epson.com.

You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EpsonAmerica), Twitter (http://twitter.com/EpsonAmerica) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/EpsonTV).

Epson is a registered trademark, Epson Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark and Epson Connect is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2014 Epson America, Inc.

^{1 According to Cisco Internet of Things (IoE) Connections Counter; July 2013} 

SOURCE Epson America, Inc.