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More Widecom Firsts

By 1996 Widecom had totally redesigned the SLC436 scanner as the monochrome / grayscale / color SLC436C. According to Document Management magazine, "when it was upgraded to an ultra-wide SCSI interface, it became the SLC836C. Retailing at just $13,000, you just couldn't beat it for price and performance."

You wouldn't want to pay as much today but in 1996 the price was ground-breaking.

Widecom SLC936+ (Single Line Contact) Large Format Scanner
The Widecom SLC936+.
36" color scans - 1.0 ips at 100 dpi
Photo credit: The Widecom Group Inc.

Initially, Widecom had good reason to be upbeat about the potential of its SLC technology in a market then dominated by CCD scanners. It was the first to see the opportunity for alternative optical imaging and implement it in an attractively priced A0 / E-size scanner.

Most importantly, Widecom had a saleable monochrome SLC wide format scanner almost two years before ANA Tech introduced their SLI wide format scanner alternative. This was a significant marketing advantage. Widecom would build on this and in the process claim some impressive "firsts".

In May 1996 Widecom introduced its Image Database File Management System, the first software for distributing large format engineering documents across the Internet. By April 1999 it was claiming the "World's Fastest Large Document Scanner", the SLC1036C color scanner. In May 1999, it introduced the "World's Widest Scanner", the 72" wide SLC972C color scanner with an ability to scan up to 1/2-inch thick originals on foam board or cardboard. Widecom's publicity machine made much of these achievements.

OEM Licensing of SLC Technology

An important success which Widecom played for maximum publicity was their announcement in April 1996 of an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) agreement with the Imtec Group Ltd of Stanmore, UK, whereby Imtec obtained the right to use Widecom's SLC technology and components in its scanners.

Imtec 3521 (Single Line Contact) Large Format Scanner
The Imtec 3521 Monochrome Scanner.
"Scan an E-size drawing in just 7.5 seconds!"
"At last, a scanner that can keep up with your plotter!"

Chief beneficiary of the WideCom SLC436's technology was the Imtec 3520, a 36" wide, 400 dpi optical resolution, (1600 interpolated) high speed scanner. This also incorporated Vidar's proprietary TruScan Locator System to automatically sense the size and location of the document and used Vidar's TruInfo scanner control and archiving software for Windows 95 / NT, Sun Solaris, HP-UX and IBM AIX.

Another Imtec product designed to use WideCom's technology was the James Camera / Scanner which combined WideCom's digital scanning technology with Imtec's microfilming technology. It was said to make "both a digital scan and microfilm with a single pass scan." "WideCom's SLC technology was chosen by Imtec because of the outstanding quality of the scanned images," said Peter Saint, Technical Director of the Imtec Group Ltd.

"We are pleased to announce this first major OEM agreement" said Raja S Tuli, CEO of the WideCom Group. "With the many uses for WideCom's wide-document scanning technology, we are confident that other potential OEM agreements for both our scanner and plotter technologies can be secured. While the first year of sales by an OEM allows it to introduce the product line to its distribution channels, subsequent years are expected to provide substantial sales growth as the new products get established."

Widecom had typically high hopes for this relationship with Imtec.

Widecom expected that first year revenue under this contract would exceed US $3 million. Imtec exhibited its SLC products at the CeBIT '96 trade fair in Hannover, Germany and scheduled the full-scale introduction to them into the European market at the IMC (Image Management) Conference in Paris, France, later in June 1996. Scanners4CAD saw Imtec exhibiting at UK trade shows in the late 90s. Thereafter, this British scanner OEM slowly, quietly and curiously disappeared from view.

Widecom SLC (Single Line Contact) Large Format Scanner
The Widecom SLC1036C.
36" color scans 2.5 ips at 100 dpi
Photo credit: The Widecom Group Inc.

Offshore manufacture - another Widecom innovation

Widecom was the first large format scanner manufacturer to build scanners in a wholly owned, subsidiary in a developing country.

By manufacturing wide format scanners in India, Widecom had lower production costs than their competitors. Some of this would be passed on to buyers through aggressive pricing. Other large format scanner manufacturers would not build offshore until the emergence of the "global economy".

Based in the Noida Special Economic Zone, Uttar Pradesh, Indo Widecom International Ltd, employed 18 full-time R&D design engineers and 34 manufacturing employees in March 1996. Widecom incurred R&D costs of $612,714, $656,876 and $732,457 from 1994 to 1996. In US or European R&D terms these sums were small given the size of Widecom's ambition - the development of wide format plotters, scanners and copiers. However, India's favourable exchange rate and low labour costs allowed these relatively small sums to go much further.

Today, both Colortrac and Graphtec manufacture large format CIS scanners in China to gain the same benefits of low cost production. Both enforce stringent quality standards.

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