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Calcomp Technology, Inc., often referred to as Calcomp or CalComp, was a company best known for its
Calcomp plotter Calcomp plotters (sometimes referred to as CalComp plotters) were the best known products of the California Computer Products company ( Calcomp or CalComp). Overview The Calcomp 565 drum plotter, introduced in 1959, was one of the first comput ...
s.


History

It was founded as California Computer Products, Inc in 1959, located in
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
. Sanders Associates, Inc., purchased Calcomp in 1980. In 1986, Sanders Associates was purchased by the
Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and merged in 1995 with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but otherwise-u ...
, and merged into Lockheed's Information Systems Group. Lockheed kept CalComp as a brand name.


Shutdown

Calcomp Technology shut down its operations in 1999, and transferred different product lines to various other companies, some of whom continue to use the "Calcomp" or other "Cal-"
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
s: * Technical Services and spare parts: CalGraph Technology Services, Inc. * TechJet 5500 Large Format Inkjet Plotter / Printer Information: CalComp Graphics. * Digitizer, Tablets and scanners: GTCO CalComp, Inc. * Film Imaging Systems: EcoPro Imaging (now part of OYO Instruments) * Cutter and sign maker products: Westcomp


Products

It produced a wide range of
plotter A plotter is a machine that produces vector graphics drawings. Plotters draw lines on paper using a pen, or in some applications, use a knife to cut a material like Polyvinyl chloride, vinyl or leather. In the latter case, they are sometimes k ...
s (both drum and flat-bed),
digitizer Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ ...
s, thermal transfer color printers, thermal plotters (InfoWorld June 13, 1994 p. 40) and other graphic input/output devices. In 1969, it produced about 80% of all plotters worldwide. It also produced IBM
plug compatible Plug compatible refers to " hardware that is designed to perform exactly like another vendor's product." The term PCM was originally applied to manufacturers who made replacements for IBM peripherals. Later this term was used to refer to IBM-com ...
(PCM) disk and tape products. The disk products ranged from 2311 (CD-1,5, 17, 18, 24, 25) through 3350 equivalents. The tape product was a 3420 equivalent. Calcomp acquired Talos and Summagraphics, which had acquired Houston Instruments.


Houston Instruments

Houston Instruments was another manufacturer of pen
plotter A plotter is a machine that produces vector graphics drawings. Plotters draw lines on paper using a pen, or in some applications, use a knife to cut a material like Polyvinyl chloride, vinyl or leather. In the latter case, they are sometimes k ...
s. They used the
DMPL DMPL, or Digital Microprocessor Plotter Language, is a vector graphics file format from Houston Instruments developed to control pen plotters and later used on cutting plotters. Driver This language is not compatible with HP-GL, see its EAGLE ...
plotting control language. They competed with Hewlett Packard plotters such as the
HP 7470 The HP 7470 was a small low-cost desktop pen plotter introduced by Hewlett-Packard's San Diego division in 1982. It was the first small-format plot that moved the paper, rather than the pens. It used a revolutionary "grit wheel" design which moved ...
. They were purchased by Summagraphics.
DMP-29
* DMP-40, DMP-41, DMP-42 * DMP-50, DMP-51, DMP-51MP, DMP-52, DMP-52MP, DMP-55, DMP-56 * DMP-60, DMP-61, DMP-61DL, DMP-62, DMP-62DL, DMP-63, DMP-64, DMP-65C * DMP-161, DMP-162, DMP-162R


Computer division

In 1987, CalComp sold its computer division to a company that focuses on
CAD/CAM CAD/CAM refers to the integration of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Both of these require powerful computers. ''CAD'' software helps designers and draftsmen; ''CAM'' "reduces manpower costs" in the manufacturi ...
.


References


External links


Referenceforbusiness.com: "History of Calcomp (California Computer Products, Inc.)"
{{US-manufacturing-company-stub 1958 establishments in California 1980 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1958 Companies based in Anaheim, California Computer companies established in 1958 Computer companies disestablished in 1980 Computer printer companies Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Defunct computer companies based in California Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies Graphics hardware Lockheed Corporation Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles Technology companies established in 1958 Technology companies disestablished in 1980