Aiming to be a comprehensive electronics manufacturer

Sharp began development into copiers in 1969. Although at that time Sharp’s industrial equipment R&D department had been enjoying booming business in calculators, more and more Sharp office equipment retailers said they couldn’t be competitive selling only calculators amidst the advancing automation of offices and that they needed to be selling copiers as well.

Sharp therefore launched development of copiers to make its office equipment business a pillar of the company. In 1970, the company name was changed from Hayakawa Electric Industry Co., Ltd. to Sharp Corporation as it took steps to become a comprehensive electronics manufacturer.

• 

  Celebrating the 1 million calculator production milestone

• 

  Replacing the outdoor signage of the head office

• 

  The Sharp Nara factory at the time

The birth of Sharp’s very first copier

In 1969, Sharp gathered six employees of its industrial equipment R&D department, who in 1970 embarked on development of copiers.

Most of them were engineers with little experience, but they were fully willing to take on the challenge and embodied Sharp’s corporate culture of strong motivation to create new technologies. They forged ahead with product development, deepening their understanding of electrophotography through self-study using information gathered from academic societies and other sources.

The SF-201 hit the market on January 6, 1972.

Copy speed of 10 ppm (A4-size paper), the fastest in its price class at the time

The SF-201 was a wet-process copier using the electrofax method, an electrophotography method that uses photoconductivity of a semiconductor. The SF-201 using the electrofax method was lauded for freeing users from the worries typical of the commonly used diazo copiers of the time, such as an ammonia odor, discoloration, or color mixing. Plain paper copiers were still not in common use, and wet-process copiers went on to enjoy widespread use as office machines for their simplicity, compact size, and affordable price.

Besides reducing cost with a drive method using a spring latch mechanism for the drive of the document glass, the SF-201 used a cotton roller for the drying roller. These and other proprietary developments earned this copier accolades for its copy speed of 10 ppm (A4-size paper), the fastest in its price class at the time.

In the four years after it was released, it spawned 10 more models in the series, testament to this product’s high quality.

Innovations boost ease of use

Consolidated controls

What set the SF-201 apart was the numerous features that made it easy to use. Consolidating all the controls in one place made operation a snap. Other features included an automatic paper feed cassette. A lamp flashed when paper ran out, and a countdown lamp displayed the number of copies remaining starting at 20.

As with the SF-201, Sharp has continued to incorporate user-friendly innovations and proprietary low-cost technologies into its subsequent copiers.

Sharp has always pursued ease of use and proprietary technologies while equipping its copiers with numerous industry-first and world-first technologies. We make products that satisfy customer needs.