Epson and their Epson canvas remains and most likely will remain a very strong product within the amateur printmaking segment of the market. There are a few reasons for this. First, since amateurs dont spend much time printmaking, they dont research other options, opportunities, advancements, etc. It's simply not a concern to them, and it is therefore much easier to use Epson canvas which is of the same brand name as their printer. Second, amateurs are not well educated in color management and using icc profiles, and are typically turned off by them. If they just stick with the Epson canvas, the profile is already built into the Epson driver and the system is essentially plug and play. Third, amateurs are not in the competitive business of selling fine art prints in the retail market, and therefore have no real incentive to raise the quality of their prints above what the Epson canvas already delivers. If the majority of your printing consists of family photos, do you really care how deep your black is?
It is for all these reasons that the Epson canvas is doing well, and will always do well within the amateur printmaking market segment so long as amateurs continue to purchase Epson printers. Therefore, it behooves Epson to always release a canvas that is applicable and versatile to this type of less sophisticated amateur user market. If the Epson canvas was difficult to use, Epson would be shooting itself in the foot. The same goes for the rest of the papers and products in Epson's line. If the products are difficult to use, users will be forced to search elsewhere and during this search they will find better products at a better price. Furthermore, users might look to other printer manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard and Canon for a more user-freindly system, who have released very competitive printers of their own in effort to capture the markets that Epson currently holds the most share.
First, through a highly bureaucratic process involving many people and departments, Epson takes a very long time to test and release new products into the marketplace. A brand new product such as the Epson canvas might reach the market anywhere from 6-12 months from the time it was initially developed. This extraordinary amount of lag time costs Epson because competitors have ample time to develop and release their own new inkjet canvas before Epson does and therefore gain the first mover advantage.
Next, once Epson releases its Epson canvas, they are going to stick with the product for several years before they even consider releasing an updated version or a new version. As illustrated above, releasing a new product is a very intense and costly process and therefore big companies much prefer to let the product run its life cycle. Unfortunately this approach costs Epson because competitors, who are more nimble and focused on the fine art inkjet canvas market, can easily release products that provide measurably superior performance. Over the past ten years, several of Epson's competitors have released products that direclty compete with the Epson canvas and undoubtedly deliver superior performance. As a result, these competitors have tended to capture a large portion of the professional photography and fine art market who tend to place a much higher value on superior quality.
The next problem with the Epson canvas is its distribution model which causes it to be overpriced when compared to its value. Before the Epson canvas reaches the end-user, it simply touches too many hands, and all of these hands are tacking on their own profit margin which ultimately raises the final cost of the product. Let's analyze this in further detail. Epson first buys the product from the inkjet canvas manufacturer. They then sell to a select few large distributors who are not allowed to sell to end users. These large distributors then sell to local Epson dealers. Epson dealers are the companies you purchased your Epson printers, inks, and media from. There are currently hundreds (if not thousands at this point) located all across the United States. It is these dealers that are selling to you. This inefficient method of distribution costs Epson because competitors have the ability to eliminate middle men in the process and effectively get their own canvas to the market at a much more competitive price.
There are currently many competitors in the marketplace currently exploiting Epson's weaknesses, which currently appear to be in the professional printmaking segment of the market. Breathing Color is a key example. Breathing Color is the only inkjet canvas and fine art paper manufacturer on the market today who has chosen to sell directly to the end users and therefore cut out every layer of distribution that marks up the final cost of the product. As a result, the company has released a line of award-winning products that lead the industry in color and longevity. Furthermore, its direct model allows for printmakers of any size to purchase directly from the company at fiercely competitive prices. In contrast to Epson and other original equipment manufacturers, Breathing Color also provides direct support to its users with free icc profiles, custom icc profiles at no charge, an online support information center called the Digital Intelligence Library, and expert representatives who work the phones and travel the world for the sake of our customers.
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