Top 5 Printer Manufacturers

We have compiled the top 5 printer manufacturers and included a brief history of each company.

1. Hewlett Packard

HP began in 1939 when Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard created HP whilst working on an audio oscillator in a garage in Palo Alto, California. Walt Disney purchased several of these oscillators for their latest move ‘Fantasia’. HP started as a small company which produced all sorts of electronic products and they first focused on counters and voltmeters. In 1984 HP produced their first inkjet and laser printers. HP rose to popularity in the late 90’s by marketing their computers and printers to the average consumer and they opened an online store to help reach them. HP is currently one of the largest providers of printing hardware and printing supplies. They feature in inkjet printers, laser printers, all in one printers, multifunction printers, photo printers and large format printers.

2. Epson

Epson is a Japanese company which was established in 1961 under the name of Shinshu Seiki to provide precision parts for Seiko watches. The company won the contract to make the precision timers for the 1964 Olympics and also picked up a contract to design a printer. The first printer Epson produced was called the EP-101 and was released in 1968; it was the first printer with an electronic calculator printer mechanism. Epson’s first dot matrix printer was released in 1978; however this did not attract much attention. In the late 80’s Epson produced an improved version, the MX-80. This printer took 2 years to develop and quickly became the best selling printer in the United States and eventually became the industrial standard for microcomputers. Epson is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of dot matrix, inkjet and laser printers for home and office use.

3. Canon

Canon was established in Japan in 1933 by Goro Yoshida and Saburo Uchid, who founded the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory. Their aim was to make cameras that would compete with the most advanced German models of the day. They produced Japan’s first 35mm camera called the Kwanon with a focal plane shutter. The company name, Canon, was chosen because it was so similar to the name in Japanese of their debut product, the Kwanon. Nowadays, Canon makes cameras, printers, copiers and many other office products and their most profitable area involves the sale of digital copiers for offices. Canon makes and supplies the print engines used in many Hewlett-Packard products, specifically the LaserJet laser printers. Canon is currently working on rear-projection displays.

4. Lexmark

Lexmark is a relatively new company and was established in 1991 it was a branch off from IBM. They produce printers and ink cartridges and are located in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1994 all IBM logos were removed from Lexmark printer products as the company had made a name for itself and was proving very successful. The company went public in 1995. With over 13,000 employees across the world and 4,000 at their headquarters alone, Lexmark has come a long way from its birth in the early nineties. They currently make third-party products for other companies including Dell. Lexmark was the first company to offer a printer for under £60. They were also one of the pioneers in releasing the state of the art Wi-Fi-based inkjet printers.

5. Dell

Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell whilst he was still a student at the University of Texas. The company was first called PC’s Limited. The following year, Dell came out with their very first computer called the Turbo, which had an eight-megahertz processor. The major goal was to produce personal computer systems that were IBM compatible and were produced using entirely stock parts. The first Dell laptop made its debut in 1991 and by 1993; it became one of the top five computer companies in the world. By 1995. The progress of the business was rapid and in 1997, Dell had shipped its ten millionth system. In 1996, Dell began selling their products through their website and three years later they took over Compaq. Dell printers are known for being versatile and easy to use; however a recent development has brought criticism to the company when Lexmark began working with them and modified their cartridges so that they don’t work with Dell printers.