Premium-quality print on complex 3D surfaces — now sold and supported in North America by EPS.
CONTOURJET pairs up to seven Epson PrecisionCore S800 printheads with an Epson six-axis robot to print full color, white, varnish and primer directly on curved, grooved and uneven parts — helmets, footwear, automotive trim, sporting goods and industrial products. EPS is Epson's North American partner for CONTOURJET sales, application support, installation and service.
EPS is Epson's partner in North America for CONTOURJET — from the first application conversation through pretreatment and adhesion engineering, installation, training and service, backed by the team that has built and supported more than 4,000 decoration systems since 1985.
Sales
Right process, right part
We sell pad, multi-pass, single-pass, robotic single-pass and now CONTOURJET — so the recommendation starts with your part, not with the one machine we happen to make.
Applications
Pretreatment & adhesion
Low-energy plastics, coated and textured surfaces, tough durability specs — we match pretreatment, ink and process to your substrate, and test adhesion on your parts before you buy.
Service
Supported from Vermont
Installation, operator training and field service across North America from the EPS team in East Dorset, VT.
Print samples
Decoration that follows the shape
Helmet shell, footwear and automotive interior trim — printed direct-to-shape on CONTOURJET.
The EPS digital line
Where CONTOURJET fits
CONTOURJET extends the EPS line toward the highest print quality on the most complex shapes. Our XD platforms remain the answer when production rate leads.
Epson CONTOURJET
Premium finish on complex 3D surfaces
600 × 600 dpi PrecisionCore S800 printhead on a six-axis Epson robot
White and clear varnish — base layers through texture effects
Built for finish quality, bespoke designs and short runs
XD-R
Robotic single-pass for 3D parts at production rates
EPS single-pass print engine on a 6-axis robot
Complex 3D parts where cycle time drives the business case
Digital decoration for complex three-dimensional parts
Decorating a curved, grooved or irregular part has traditionally meant analog steps — pad printing, screen, masking, spray and hand finishing — each with its own tooling and labor. CONTOURJET digitizes that decoration: a six-axis Epson robot presents the part to the printheads along a precisely controlled path, so ink lands exactly where the design calls for it, even across contours and recesses.
Conventional decoration vs. CONTOURJET
CONVENTIONAL DECORATION
CONTOURJET
Shape
Curved or uneven surfaces need dedicated jigs, and complex shapes are hard to print cleanly
Prints full color directly onto curved and contoured surfaces
Color & design
A separate plate for every color; multi-color work and gradients are costly
Full color in one pass, with white, varnish and primer
Design change
Every change means a new plate and setup
Prints straight from the design file — change the design, or personalize every piece, without plates
Lot size
Plate and setup costs make small runs expensive
No plate costs, so small runs and one-offs pay
Labor
Positioning and color control depend on skilled operators
Automated and repeatable, without relying on scarce skills
Environment
Spray and screen work create solvent and cleaning waste
Plate-free, with far less solvent and waste
Handles large, complex 3D parts
A six-axis Epson robot grips and positions each workpiece — 3D parts up to 1,200 × 1,200 × 500 mm (47 × 47 × 20 in) and 8 kg including the jig. It tilts the surface up to 45° so print stays even across curves and steep contours, and the linear-motor platform takes large, long-form workpieces. A flat stage handles smaller parts up to 300 × 300 × 180 mm.
Up to seven printheads — with white, varnish and primer
Epson PrecisionCore S800 printheads print at 600 dpi, each on its own vertical axis so every head follows the surface. UV-LED curing and continuous ink circulation keep jetting stable. Beyond CMYK, CONTOURJET lays down white, varnish and primer, for vivid color and finish on the material you already use.
From CAD file to print path
Each new shape gets a print path, generated from your 3D CAD or scan data; your design is then laid out along that path. Path generation is available as a service for each new shape, and saved paths are reused for every later run — so repeat jobs and design changes need no new setup.
Example: decorating a hard hat
In Epson’s hard-hat example, two-sided decoration (front and left) moved from analog silk screen to CONTOURJET:
ANALOG SILK SCREEN
CONTOURJET
Steps
Data prep, plate making, setup, front printing, changeover, left printing, plate cleaning, ink disposal, plate storage
Data prep, setup, print from the PC — front and left in one run
People
Four
Two
Time required
40–60 minutes
15–20 minutes
Consistency
Varies with operator skill
Stable regardless of operator experience
The result: on-demand, short-run printing with fewer steps, less manual labor, better safety and shorter lead times. EPS already decorates hard hats and PPE with pad and inkjet — see hard hat & PPE printing.
The hard part is adhesion. That’s our part.
Print quality only matters if the ink stays on. Many of the parts CONTOURJET is built for — polypropylene and polyethylene housings, coated and painted components, textured automotive trim, footwear materials — resist ink until the surface is prepared correctly. CONTOURJET can print a primer layer in-line; EPS decides what each substrate actually needs — primer, flame, corona or plasma pretreatment, or a combination — matches the ink chemistry to it, and qualifies the process against your durability spec: rub, tape, chemical and abrasion.
Before you commit, send us your parts. Through our free sample adhesion testing program, we test ink adhesion against your spec and send back decorated samples with a written report. Durable print is a system — pretreatment, ink and substrate engineered together — and that system is what EPS delivers around the CONTOURJET.
Where CONTOURJET fits in the EPS line
EPS builds single-pass inkjet for production-rate decoration — flat, cylindrical and robotic. CONTOURJET adds the other end of the range: the highest print quality on the most complex surfaces, where the finish matters more than the cycle time. Because we sell both, we’ll tell you which one your part needs.
Specifications, the conventional-vs-CONTOURJET comparison and the hard-hat example are from Epson (as of September 1, 2026). Product information is subject to change without notice; pictures are for illustrative purposes.
Features
Up to seven Epson PrecisionCore S800 printheads (six standard) at 600 × 600 dpi
Individual vertical axis for each printhead, so every head follows the surface
Epson C8 six-axis robot grips and transfers each part — 3D workpieces up to 1,200 × 1,200 × 500 mm and 8 kg with jig
Tilts the surface up to 45° for even print across curves and steep contours
CMYK plus white, varnish and primer; UV-LED curing with continuous ink circulation
Print paths generated from 3D CAD or scan data, saved and reused for repeat runs
Front-access design for easier maintenance and printhead replacement
Applications engineering by EPS — primer, flame, corona or plasma pretreatment, ink-to-substrate matching and adhesion testing against your durability spec
Ink, software, implementation support and maintenance as a total solution — sold and serviced in North America by EPS
Specifications
Printing method
Piezo inkjet
Printheads
Epson PrecisionCore S800 (Micro TFP) × 6, up to 7
Resolution
600 × 600 dpi (standard print mode)
Colors
CMYK plus white, varnish and primer
Curing
UV-LED
Ink supply
Ink tank with circulation — 250 mL per head
Printhead carriage
X (scan) + Y (front–back) axes, with individual vertical travel for each head (Z1–Z7)
Workpiece handling
Epson C8-C901S six-axis robot for gripping and transfer
Max. payload
8 kg (17.6 lb), including jig
3D workpieces
Up to 1,200 × 1,200 × 500 mm (47.2 × 47.2 × 19.7 in), with a dedicated jig for each part
Flat stage
Up to 300 × 300 × 180 mm (11.8 × 11.8 × 7.1 in)
Printable area
1,000 × 600 × 180 mm (39.4 × 23.6 × 7.1 in)
Surface tilt (scan axis)
Up to 45°
Printhead heater
Room temperature to 50 °C (122 °F)
Environment
20–30 °C (68–86 °F), 35–55% RH non-condensing
Power
200 V AC, up to 30 A, 3-phase, 50/60 Hz; 2.3 kW rated consumption (400 V supply requires a customer-side transformer)
2,760 × 1,860 × 1,970 mm (108.7 × 73.2 × 77.6 in) W × D × H, excluding tower lamp
Weight
Approx. 1,900 kg (4,190 lb)
Service access
Front access
North American sales & service
Engineered Printing Solutions, East Dorset, VT
Where it wins
Built for parts where the finish is the product
Sporting goods
Helmets, footwear and equipment with graphics that wrap the shape — team colors, limited editions and personalized designs without screens or masks.
Automotive
Interior trim and components with wood-grain, texture and brand effects printed directly on the part — digital variety without a separate decorating supply chain.
Industrial products
Branding and decoration on housings and components with curved or uneven faces, replacing multi-step analog processes with one digital cell.
Premium consumer goods
Short runs and bespoke designs where decoration quality sets the price point — white underbase, clear varnish and texture in one system.
Who this fits
Is CONTOURJET the right EPS system for your part?
We sell the whole range, so we'll point you to the right one. CONTOURJET is the fit when:
Right fit when
The surface is complex — curved, contoured, grooved or uneven
The part fits the envelope — up to 1,200 × 1,200 × 500 mm and 8 kg with its jig
Print quality and decorative effect matter more than parts per hour
You need white, clear varnish or texture, not just CMYK
Runs are short, bespoke or highly varied
Your substrate is hard to print — low-energy plastics, coatings or textures that need pretreatment for ink to hold
You're replacing multi-step analog decoration — masking, spray, pad or hand finishing
When production rate leads, look at our XD-R robotic single-pass instead — we'll help you compare
Not sure which technology fits your line?
Five questions about your manufacturing environment. We recommend the optimal EPS process and platform — with no sales call required.
Who sells and supports CONTOURJET in North America?
EPS. We are Epson’s North American partner for CONTOURJET sales, application support, installation, training and service, working from our engineering and service base in East Dorset, Vermont.
How is CONTOURJET different from the EPS XD-R?
Both print complex 3D parts from a six-axis robot. The XD-R is EPS’s robotic single-pass system, built for production rates. CONTOURJET is built for the highest print quality and decorative range — white, clear varnish and texture — where finish matters more than cycle time. Because we sell both, the recommendation starts with your part.
What does it take to set up a new part shape?
A print path, generated from your 3D CAD or scan data, plus a jig to hold the part. Your design is laid out along the path, and path generation is available as a service for each new shape. Paths are saved, so repeat runs and design changes need no new setup.
What inks does it use?
CONTOURJET supports multicolor printing including white and clear varnish. Epson works with partner companies to recommend inks and operating methods for each application and substrate, and EPS matches ink, substrate and pretreatment for durable results on your part.
What if ink won't stick to my part?
That’s the problem EPS solves every day. Low-surface-energy plastics like polypropylene and polyethylene, coated or painted parts, and textured surfaces often need pretreatment — flame, corona or plasma — and the right ink chemistry before print will hold. We engineer that combination for your part and qualify it against your durability spec. Start with our free sample adhesion testing: send us parts, and we return decorated samples and a written report.
Can I see it print my part?
Yes. EPS will have a CONTOURJET demo unit in North America in the first quarter of 2027, for test prints on your own parts. Talk to us now — we’ll review your geometry and the decoration you need, and put your part on the list for the first test prints.
Let's look at your part.
Tell us what you decorate today and what you want it to look like. Our CONTOURJET demo unit arrives in Q1 2027 — get your part on the list for the first test prints. We'll recommend CONTOURJET, XD-R or another EPS process, whichever fits your part.
Epson partner — North America
