Epson Announces Direct-Connect And Multi-Station Kitchen Display Systems (KDS) Controllers At NRA

Next Generation KDS Streamlines Food Service Operations for Quick Service Restaurants

Epson America, Inc., a leading supplier of value-added Point of Sale (POS) solutions, recently announced its Direct-Connect KDS and Multi-Station KDS controller solutions for quick service restaurants (QSRs), hospitality VARs and their end users at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) show. Epson’s KDS solutions come with built-in intelligent printers that are easy to install and configure and can be used within existing kitchen workflows. The solutions will be demonstrated at NRA, May 21 – 24, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL, Epson booth 6576, and will be readily available starting June 1,,2016, from Epson authorized resellers and distributors.

Epson’s KDS controller solutions pilot installations include Big Sizzler, a small family café in Ontario, Canada; Imperial Palms Resort, a family-friendly hotel and golf course in Holtville Calif.; Faderville, a sports bar & grill in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Rich’s Burgers ‘n Grub, a small QSR, and Yoshi’s Enso Grill, a food truck line, both in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Epson’s KDS is exactly what we were looking for,” said Eddee Johansen, owner of Yoshi's Enso Grill. “We are using it to streamline our food service operations.  The combination of the Epson KDS solutions with built-in printer allows us to run more efficiently leading to more satisfied customers.”    

Epson’s KDS food order prep solutions are easy to install, configure and use for QSRs and hospitality VARs. They are reliable and have built-in smart printers that can serve as receipt or backup printers. The KDS controllers parse and drive the order to the kitchen display enabling order bumping. 

Epson’s Direct-Connect KDS controller utilizes the OmniLink® TM-U220-i VGA or TM-T88V-i VGA to directly drive a kitchen display. Designed for expansion, Epson’s Multi-Station KDS controller leverages the OmniLink TM-U220-i COM to drive up to nine kitchen displays via convenient networked expansion modules. This solution offers greater efficiency, accuracy and redundancy for uninterrupted service, automatically rerouting orders if one station goes down, and providing a backup printer.

 “Epson has leveraged  three decades of industry leadership in developing innovative and reliable solutions such as KDS,” said Gregg Brunnick, director of product management & technical services, Business Systems Division, Epson America. “There are a lot of moving parts in restaurant operations and KDS solutions are just one element of a complex overall environment. By providing an intelligent printer with built in KDS, we enable QSRs to streamline and simplify their infrastructure and food service workflow environment so that they can focus on serving their customers instead.”

Epson KDS Benefits

• Features an intuitive configuration utility with simple graphical user interface that makes it easy to install, configure and use
• Built-in intelligent printer allows receipt and back-up printing resulting in infrastructure cost savings
• Because it’s POS agnostic, it doesn’t require any software modifications to the POS system resulting in lowering infrastructure investment
• Saves space by combining two pieces of hardware into one, featuring a 50% smaller footprint than a standalone KDS controller and printer
• Offers lower power consumption
• Ensures proven reliability as QSRs keep running in case of display failure
• Epson’s Multi-Station KDS seamlessly adds up to nine stations via KDS expansion modules connected to the KDS controller network to efficiently streamline food service operations

For more information, visit www.Epson.com/KDS.

About Epson America, Inc.
Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Long Beach, CA, Epson America, Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. For over 40 years, Epson’s advanced technology has been at work in millions of POS systems around the world. Today Epson’s Business Systems Division continues to bring industry-leading, open architecture, smart technologies to the point of service.