Loftware and Seiko Epson Corporation announced a strategic partnership that aims to revolutionize customers' labeling workflows. Epson and Loftware will collaborate to develop cloud-based 1-step color printing solutions to improve print efficiency and ease-of-use. The companies will lower barriers for on-demand color label printing through seamless integration with SAP and other leading business systems. The partnership will integrate the Epson ColorWorks series of color label printers with Loftware's NiceLabel Cloud platforms. Businesses will be able to print from NiceLabel Cloud directly to Epson ColorWorks cloud-connected printers.

This will improve productivity, reduce customers' reliance on IT, minimize print errors, and decrease the cost and inventory of pre-printed labels. The partnership between Epson and Loftware comes following a sharp increase in demand for high-productivity color labeling solutions as businesses invested in supply chain improvements, both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand has particularly grown among companies that employ SAP EH&S ERP systems and who plan to migrate to S/4 HANA and the cloud.

These businesses manage production, warehouse, and distribution facilities and operate across multiple industry segments including chemicals, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, electronics, automotive, aerospace, and retail. The Epson-Loftware collaboration meets a growing demand from businesses for the use of color on products, cartons, and pallet labels for identification. Furthermore, companies in the chemical (GHS), medical device, and pharmaceutical segments are faced with the urgent need to comply with international labeling regulations requiring color.

Through the integration of Epson color label printers with Loftware's NiceLabel Cloud platforms, companies that use 2-step printing to print color labels can now move to lower cost and error-reduced 1-step on-demand color label printing.