Breaking Point Pain

Right now, label digital printing is going through a rapid phase of expansion and quality transformation. The pace of digital printing equipment upgrades keeps accelerating, and the gap in talent development is becoming increasingly obvious, which has become one of the bottlenecks restricting the industry from advancing in high-quality growth.

Epson is empowering companies to improve quality and efficiency with its full range of SurePress high-end label digital printers. Through the 'Epson Chief Operator Masterclass,' it addresses the mismatch problem of 'advanced equipment but lagging talent,' building a new high-quality development model for the label printing industry that combines 'equipment upgrades, process standardization, joint talent development, and ecosystem win-win.'

This event not only witnessed the benchmark implementation of Epson's micro-inkjet certified factories but also marked the official launch of the 'Epson Chief Operator Masterclass,' opening a new chapter for standardized talent development in the label printing industry.

Epson Captain Masterclass launch site

Part 01

Resolve the crisis

"Breakthrough" the bottleneck of uneven development in digital printing talent

With the accelerated innovation of label digital printing technology and the annual increase in equipment installations, label printing companies are generally trapped in the development dilemma of "advanced equipment, inconsistent operation, inconsistent processes, and talent gaps": uneven technical levels among operators, a lack of unified industry training systems, and high costs for fault commissioning losses. Talent shortages have become obstacles to label printing companies from reducing costs, improving efficiency, improving quality, and advancing digital transformation.

From the perspective of upgrading the entire industry ecosystem, Epson leverages mature technological accumulation and industry service experience to launch the "Epson Engineer Masterclass," precisely addressing the current development difficulties faced by the label digital printing industry and enterprises. This is a strategic initiative by Epson for long-term industry development.

The "Epson Captain Masterclass" aims to break the traditional extensive training model of "master-apprentice oral teaching," solve the industry's mismatch problem of "advanced equipment but lagging talent," open a win-win channel for label printing companies, captains, and equipment suppliers, and build a differentiated, sustainable, and virtuous industry talent ecosystem.

For label printing companies: a standardized and specialized team of machine captains can significantly reduce equipment failure and loss, minimize consumable waste, stabilize product printing quality, improve overall production line efficiency, and ease the challenges of cultivating high-end technical talent;

For frontline machine captains: Establish an official authoritative skills certification system, connecting standardized learning, qualification certification, honor incentives, and experience sharing, reshaping the professional value of printing craftsmen;

For the label industry: standardize the operation, maintenance, and process debugging standards for label digital printing equipment, establish a standardized talent evaluation system, cultivate a high-quality team of digital printing craftsmen, and strengthen the talent foundation for high-quality development of label digital printing.

Part 02

Establish standards

"Build" a standardized system for digital printing processes

As a key cultivation project at Epson, the "Epson Chief Masterclass" has newly established a four-in-one closed-loop talent cultivation system of "training-certification-motivation-empowerment":

Dual training lines, systematic quality improvement

It adopts a dual model of regular online theoretical teaching + offline on-site practical assessments, covering basic equipment operation, daily maintenance, precise color control, common fault troubleshooting, advanced process optimization, and other professional content across all dimensions, breaking the spatial and temporal limitations of learning and systematically addressing operators' skill shortcomings.

Officially certified, certified to work

All trainees who complete the training and pass the rigorous assessment will receive an authoritative certification issued by Epson, valid for 2 years, implementing a standardized "certified employment" model and setting new standards for talent and skills in the industry.

Data empowerment, long-term incentives

A scientific quantitative assessment and rating system has been established, using core data such as equipment maintenance quality, production stability, equipment operating status, and fault handling efficiency as the basis for comprehensive ranking and evaluation. Multiple incentive mechanisms such as quarterly and annual outstanding team awards have been set up to fully motivate practitioners to learn, improve, and innovate.

Empowering through exchange, growing together

Regularly hold industry technical exchange conferences, build a professional platform for sharing outstanding captains' experiences, technology exchange, and intellectual exchange, focusing on enhancing captains' professional abilities and long-term development, promoting the comprehensive circulation of high-quality technology and practical experience in the industry, and achieving joint talent advancement across the industry.

From talent cultivation and skill certification to process standards and experience sharing, the "Epson Engineer Masterclass" will systematically unify the operational and quality standards for digital micro-inkjet printing, ending the chaos of lack of unified norms and long-term cultivation in the industry, and laying a solid foundation for industry standardization and standardized development.

According to the plan, Epson will steadily advance preparations for the Captain Masterclass. The first batch of "Epson Captain Masterclass" pilot training and certification will soon open for registration, with the first certification scheduled to be completed in October. Going forward, Epson will regularly conduct captain training, assessments, and certifications, continuously supplying standardized and specialized digital printing technology talents to support partner talent pipeline development.

Part 03

To the future

"Embarking" on a new journey of high-quality industry upgrades

Looking at the overall digital transformation of label printing, the launch of the Epson Machinery Chief Masterclass has long gone beyond mere customer training, possessing profound industry value and leading significance.

From the full range of SurePress high-end label digital printing equipment empowering individual enterprises to improve quality and efficiency, to setting benchmark micro-inkjet printing certification factories, and then to masterclasses for machine captains deeply cultivating industry talent, Epson has always stepped beyond the sole identity of "equipment supplier," building a new paradigm for high-quality industry development with the responsibility and commitment of an industry leader, clearing bottlenecks and difficulties in the label digital printing development chain.

Focusing on the present, breaking through and improving quality; Anchoring standards to regulate the industry; Striving for the long term, building an ecosystem together. In the future, Epson will continue to connect the entire industry chain from technology R&D to scenario application to talent cultivation, empowering industry transformation and upgrading with long-term principles, and jointly building a new high-quality development ecosystem for the label printing industry: "standardized production, specialized talent, and sustainable development."