Operator News
G2E – TransAct launching Epicentral SE for Slot Management Systems
By Phil - 23 September 2016
TransAct Technologies will debut the new Epic Edge casino ticket printer, its latest and most advanced casino printer for use in all gaming machines and electronic table games.
TransAct’s booth will also feature a complete demonstration of how “Epicentral has Growing Casino Revenue Down to a System” as the Company introduces Epicentral System Edition, a new version of Epicentral that provides all slot management systems with the ability to turn existing electronic promotions and bonuses in their current systems into printed coupons directly at the slot machine, and Epicentral v3.8, the latest version of the Company’s fully featured, industry-leading promotion bonusing and print system. TransAct will also highlight a new relationship with Prism Solutions that includes the launch of ServerPort for Prism and demonstrate its complete lineup of Epic roll printers for gaming devices, self-service kiosks and lottery operations.
Epic Edge, the Company’s new next-generation casino ticket printer, builds on the proven performance of TransAct’s Epic 950 and brings to casinos a host of technological advances that will no doubt serve to make it the ticket printing solution of choice. Epic Edge introduces a new print resolution standard for the market – 300 dpi – that represents a 50 per cent improvement over all current casino ticket printers. This new capability will enable it to deliver razor sharp barcodes, greatly improving bill validator acceptance and reducing attendant calls while allowing for clearer text and more attractive coupon artwork, thus helping to enhance Epicentral implementations in casinos deploying the Epic Edge. Another industry standard-setting feature is the addition of an adjustable ticket bucket that will allow casino operators to use smaller, paper-saving tickets in their operations, reducing paper usage and saving money in concert with the ecologic and environmental programs being implemented at casinos today. The Epic Edge will also handle the standard tickets used in today’s casinos.
Other key features for the new Epic Edge include a single outer chassis with Serial, USB and Netplex ports to allow the printer to work with any machine type, hot swap capability to eliminate game downtime, two high-speed interfaces – USB and Micro SD – that enable simple firmware and graphics updates, a faster ServerPort connection, color coded chassis rails that make identifying installed Epic Edge and Epic 950 printers easier for slot floor operations teams, and a rugged metal chassis design. The Epic Edge will be a drop-in replacement for the Epic 950, allowing operators to run both printers side-by-side on their casino floors.
“Introducing the Epic Edge at G2E 2016 continues TransAct’s technical, feature and performance leadership in the global casino and gaming market,” said Bart C. Shuldman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TransAct Technologies. “By bringing 50 per cent higher-quality print capabilities to the market, the Epic Edge will allow us to directly improve the casino floor operations through better bill validator performance by providing a higher quality printed ticket and bar code and also more effectively serve our existing and potential Epicentral customers as it will greatly enhance coupon and promotion design and provide a fantastic looking coupon for the slot player. This new printer stands on the proven reliability of the Epic 950 and takes our flagship gaming device printer to a whole new level. We are confident that casino operators will come to appreciate the capabilities of the Epic Edge and seek to bring its high performance to their casino floors.”
As the gaming industry’s only enterprise-level promotion and bonusing software suite which can target customers in real-time while they play their favorite slot machine or electronic table game, Epicentral works with all existing slot management systems and games, regardless of manufacturer. Debuting at G2E 2016, Epicentral v3.8 brings to promotion and bonusing a host of innovative new capabilities and features. Epicentral users implementing v3.8 will be able to run multiple promotions at the same time, create games within games, offer multi-user/multi-site promotions, run different promotions on different slot game banks, segment players by tier and promote to different levels of uncarded players. The new version 3.8 will also feature the ability to redeem, print or reprint bonuses at multiple locations as well as an enhanced user interface and more reporting options.
TransAct will also take Epicentral to a new level with the debut at G2E 2016 of Epicentral SE, a unique systems version of the Company’s promotion and bonusing system. Traditionally, operators have leveraged the existing bonusing capabilities found in their slot management systems to offer bonuses to players either through the player account or through the electronic award of free play, but their system had no ability to deliver the bonus by printed coupon to the player as they are playing. Epicentral SE leverages the Print Manager and Design Center modules of Epicentral to design and print these bonuses as coupons directly at the slot machine. In addition, Epicentral SE provides for an upgrade path to a full Epicentral implementation should an operator seek to expand their promotion and bonusing options well beyond what the current slot management systems offer.
Mr. Shuldman added: “We are proud to declare at G2E 2016 that ‘Epicentral has Growing Casino Revenue Down to a System.’ Casino operators and casino system companies are finding that players value a traditional printed coupon and that customer appreciation for coupons is a powerful tool to drive increased play and revenue. We are demonstrating this year our continued commitment to Epicentral growth with two key new introductions. Epicentral version 3.8 introduces innovative new capabilities and features that will deliver enhanced value and flexibility, translating to increased system performance over time. We have also created Epicentral SE to provide our customers with the means to take the existing electronic bonuses and promotions made possible by their slot management system and turn those offers into customised, printed coupons while the player is at the slot machine. We are excited by the possibilities our new Epicentral SE provides and believe that this marks a significant step forward for our industry-leading promotion and bonusing print system.”
Marking the company’s first support of alternative payment and credit redemption technologies, TransAct will debut at G2E 2016 a new relationship with Prism Solutions. Developers of a revolutionary eTITO solution, Prism’s mobile wallet is a unique new offering that will allow players to load credits onto an enabled slot machine or electronic table game and redeem their winnings either through the ticket printer or by using a wireless Bluetooth or NFC connection, eliminating the need for cash. TransAct’s new ServerPort for Prism and related firmware updates for the Epic 950 and Epic Edge will leverage the Company’s proven technology to support both standard ticket payment and an alternative payment solution, demonstrating the flexibility of TransAct’s printer and software offerings.
TransAct will also demonstrate at G2E 2016 its diverse array of award-winning Epic printing systems for gaming devices, self-service kiosks and lottery operators, with the new Epic 9000 lottery printer making its debut.
