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, 1983Ageo, Saitama, Japan | in
Headquarters | , Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Nobutaka (Nobu) Ide (President & CEO)[1] |
Products | Bamboo, Intuos, Cintiq, MobileStudio Pro, PenPartner, Volito, Graphire |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Total assets | ![]() |
Number of employees | 1,069 (2022) |
Website | wacom |
Footnotes / references [2] |
Wacom Co., Ltd. (株式会社ワコム, Kabushiki gaisha Wakomu, /ˈwɑːkəm/) is a Japanese company headquartered in Kazo, Saitama, Japan, that specializes in manufacturing graphics tablets and related products.[3]
The main headquarters are located in Kazo, Saitama, Japan. Its office in the USA is currently located in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon. The European headquarters is located in the Media Harbour in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The company was founded in 1983 in Japan.[4] The company released its first pen display in 1992[5] and was the first company to make pens without a cord.[6]
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.[citation needed] Some pens have an eraser on the rear end.[7]
Wacom's professional pen displays are under the Cintiq line[8] which allow for drawing directly on the screen like drawing on paper,[9][10] which are more expensive than other Wacom products.[11] The Cintiq Companion is a portable variant of the Cintiq displays.[11]
Intuos graphics tablets are smaller tablets, without displays. The Verge calls them a "great introduction to digital art."[12]
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.[13][14] 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.[15]
Wacoms other tablets, Bamboo,[9] and Graphire, are both without screens.[16]
Wacom partnered with Magic Leap to create collaborative mixed reality design tools, announced in 2018.[17]
The pens use a movable tip to determine the pressure,[18][19] and the tablets use patented electromagnetic resonance technology, a type of faint radio signal,[20][21] called Electro Magnetic Resonance.[18][22][23] This method does not require batteries in the pens.[7]
Wacom has been criticized for their high cost of professional displays.[24][improper synthesis?] The company has also received criticism for collection of user usage data,[25] which Wacom says is "for quality assurance and development purposes," where the data is anonymized.[26]