Designed for small to mid-range volumes, the machine is said to offer high quality printing and can print in either gloss or matt black inks. Epson said it will enable businesses that currently outsource labels to take control of their label printing in-house while saving unnecessary waste, energy, and costs.

Speaking to Printweek at Packaging Innovations, which kicked off yesterday (25 May) at the NEC in Birmingham and concludes later today, Dave Massam, business manager at Epson UK, said: “The C4000e has already launched officially in Europe but this is the first time we’ve shown it in the UK.

“It features a new enhanced printhead and what makes this exciting is that the product can now work with Android and Apple [iOS] tablets so it’s giving you that flexibility of working with a tablet that’s never been there before.”

An optional Wi-Fi dongle is also available, providing the ability to print from anywhere at any time. Remote configuration, maintenance and monitoring, as well as fleet management is facilitated through a simple web interface.

The printer also features a 2.7-inch LCD display panel, as well as an auto-cutter which can be easily replaced by the user.

The existing C3500 will also remain available, with the C4000e representing a “more premium” alternative according to Massam, who said it was suitable for runs from one label to batches of up to 100.

The C4000e is available to order immediately through Epson’s authorised partners, with the first shipments arriving in Europe this month, and pricing is around £1,600.

The C3500 is also on the company’s stand at the show, along with kit from labelling specialist Magnum Materials, which is showcasing its automated labelling setup that features the Epson ColorWorks C6000Pe and SCARA [Selective Compliance Assembly Robotic Arm] LS3-B401S.