Wacom
 | |
 Wacom headquarters in Kazo, Saitama, Japan
| |
Native name |
株式会社ワコム |
|---|---|
Romanized name |
Kabushiki gaisha Wakomu |
| Type | Public (Kabushiki gaisha) |
| TYO: 6727 | |
| Industry | Computer input devices and software |
| Founded | July 12, 1983 in Ageo, Saitama, Japan |
| Headquarters |
, Japan
|
Area served |
Worldwide |
Key people |
Nobutaka (Nobu) Ide (President & CEO) |
| Products | Bamboo, Intuos, Cintiq, MobileStudio Pro, PenPartner, Volito, Graphire |
| Revenue |
 ¥109 billion (2022) |
 ¥13 billion (2022) |
|
|
¥11 billion (2022) |
|
| Total assets |
¥73 billion (2022) |
Number of employees |
1,069 (2022) |
| Website | wacom |
|
Footnotes / references | |
Wacom Co., Ltd. (株式会社ワコム, Kabushiki gaisha Wakomu, ) is a Japanese company headquartered in Kazo, Saitama, Japan, that specializes in manufacturing graphics tablets and related products. As of 2012 Wacom generated sales of approximately 40.7 billion yen with 785 employees. The company's shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
History
The company was founded in 1983. The name Wacom came from an abbreviated variation of World Computer (ワールドコンピュータ, wārudo konpyūtā), with the syllable "wa" (Japanese for harmony).
The company released its first pen display in 1992 and was the first company to make pens without a cord.
Products
Wacom produces two categories of graphics tablets: those with a screen ('pen display') and those without ('tablet'). In addition, the company provides software for computers and software to interpret pen data. Some pens have an eraser on the rear end.
Cintiq
Wacom's professional pen displays are under the Cintiq line which allow for drawing directly on the screen like drawing on paper, which are more expensive than other Wacom products. The Cintiq Companion is a portable variant of the Cintiq displays.
Intuos
Intuos graphics tablets are smaller tablets, without displays. The Verge calls them a "great introduction to digital art."
Other products
In 2011, the company released a tablet-less pen, which allowed for drawing on any piece of paper, but was criticized for being inaccurate compared to a normal photo scan. The Wacom One, released at CES 2020, has a 13-inch, 1920x1080 display. The Verge labeled it as Wacom's "most affordable tablet to date," being priced at $400.
Wacoms other tablets, Bamboo, and Graphire, are both without screens.
Wacom partnered with Magic Leap to create collaborative mixed reality design tools, announced in 2018.
Technology
The pens use a movable tip to determine the pressure, and the tablets use patented electromagnetic resonance technology, a type of faint radio signal, called Electro Magnetic Resonance. This method does not require batteries in the pens.
Criticism
Wacom has been criticized for their high cost of professional displays. The company has also received criticism for collection of user usage data, which Wacom says is "for quality assurance and development purposes," where the data is anonymized.
Software
The Wacom tablets are linux based. They do have the capability to run Zorin OS16.