Calcomp

Lore & Background

Calcomp was founded as California Computer Products, Inc in 1959, located in Anaheim, California. Sanders Associates, Inc., purchased Calcomp in 1980. In 1986, Sanders Associates was purchased by the Lockheed Corporation, and merged into Lockheed's Information Systems Group. Lockheed kept CalComp as a brand name. 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-' trademarks.

Calcomp produced a wide range of plotters (both drum and flat-bed), digitizers, thermal transfer color printers, thermal plotters and other graphic input/output devices. It also produced IBM plug compatible (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 was another manufacturer of pen plotters. They used the DMPL plotting control language. They competed with Hewlett Packard plotters such as the HP 7470. They were purchased by Summagraphics. In 1987, CalComp sold its computer division to a company that focuses on CAD/CAM.

Reader's Guide

Calcomp's significance lies in its dominance of the plotter market, producing about 80% of all plotters worldwide in 1969. The company's history reflects a series of acquisitions: founded in 1959, purchased by Sanders Associates in 1980, then by Lockheed in 1986, with Lockheed retaining the CalComp brand. After shutting down in 1999, its product lines were transferred to various companies, some still using the Calcomp or Cal- trademarks, including CalGraph Technology Services, CalComp Graphics, GTCO CalComp, EcoPro Imaging, and Westcomp. Calcomp also produced IBM plug-compatible disk and tape storage products, and acquired Talos and Summagraphics (which had bought Houston Instruments, a competitor to Hewlett Packard plotters). In 1987, Calcomp sold its computer division to a CAD/CAM-focused company. The legacy includes the DMPL plotting control language used by Houston Instruments plotters, and a range of plotter models such as the DMP-29 through DMP-162 series.

From Anaheim to Global Dominance

Calcomp Technology, Inc. traces its origins to 1959, when it was established under the name California Computer Products, Inc. in Anaheim, California. What began as a modest venture in the early days of computing quickly evolved into one of the most significant names in graphic output hardware. The company became synonymous with pen plotters, and by 1969 it had achieved a staggering market position, manufacturing roughly eighty percent of all plotters produced worldwide. That level of dominance in a single product category speaks to how essential precise mechanical drawing had become for engineering, architecture, and scientific visualization during the late 1960s. The Calcomp name itself became practically interchangeable with the act of plotting, cementing the brand in the lexicon of technical professionals across the globe.

A Broad Technical Portfolio

Beyond its flagship pen plotters, Calcomp maintained an impressively diverse product lineup spanning multiple categories of graphic input and output equipment. The catalog included both drum and flat-bed plotter architectures, digitizers, thermal transfer color printers, and thermal plotters, alongside other specialized graphic devices. The company also ventured into data storage, producing IBM plug-compatible disk drives ranging from 2311 equivalents (designated CD-1, 5, 17, 18, 24, 25) through 3350-class units, as well as a 3420-equivalent tape drive. Through a series of acquisitions, Calcomp absorbed Talos and Summagraphics, the latter having previously taken in Houston Instruments, a rival pen-plotter maker known for its DMPL plotting control language and its extensive DMP series of machines. Houston Instruments had competed directly with Hewlett-Packard offerings such as the HP 7470, and its integration into the Calcomp family expanded the company's reach into additional plotting technologies and control languages.

Shifting Ownership and Strategic Sales

Calcomp's corporate trajectory saw it pass through several major hands over the 1980s. In 1980, Sanders Associates, Inc. acquired the company, bringing it under a new corporate umbrella. Six years later, in 1986, the Lockheed Corporation purchased Sanders Associates and folded the operation into its Information Systems Group. Notably, Lockheed chose to retain CalComp as a brand name, recognizing the equity the name still carried in the technical graphics market. During this period of larger corporate ownership, Calcomp also made strategic divestitures. In 1987, the company sold its computer division to a firm specializing in CAD/CAM applications, a move that aligned the technology with its core customer base of design and manufacturing professionals. These transactions reflected a broader industry trend of consolidation among defense contractors and technology firms during the mid-to-late 1980s.

The 1999 Wind-Down and Enduring Brand

Calcomp Technology ceased operations in 1999, marking the end of a company that had dominated the plotter market for nearly four decades. Rather than a simple dissolution, the shutdown involved a structured transfer of its various product lines to different successor companies, each continuing to serve a specific niche. Technical services and spare parts went to CalGraph Technology Services, Inc.; information on the TechJet 5500 large-format inkjet plotter and printer passed to CalComp Graphics; digitizers, tablets, and scanners were absorbed by GTCO CalComp, Inc.; film imaging systems moved to EcoPro Imaging, which is now part of OYO Instruments; and cutter and sign-maker products were handed to Westcomp. Several of these entities continue to operate under the Calcomp or Cal- trademark, ensuring that a name once associated with global plotting dominance persists in the technical graphics landscape.