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 Noboru
Hayama had longed to develop a new type of household printing equipment,
with
the conviction that it would have to be a wonderful communication tool
if it could
print in color.
His longing eventually took form as a compact household card printer,
"Print Gocco",
which RISO released first in Tokyo Business Show in May 1977 and started
to market
in September in the same year.
With this new product could be made colorful prints only by pressing an
ink-applied
master against a sheet of paper placed on a sponge pad. Besides, a quick
flashing
thermal imaging method was used to make an original image on a master
with the
same product. Such quick and easy operations surprised and amused many
people.
As a result, "Print Gocco" recorded explosive sales soon after its
launch and
became a popular product used by many people in Japan.
Besides, the name of this product, "Print Gocco", is also supposed to
have been
a key factor of popularity. Hayama says, "we have learned daily rules
and knowledge
through a kind of make-believe play, "Gocco" play. This "Gocco" play is a
source
of intellectual education and its spirit is, I believe, an important
national
heritage. Therefore, I decided to use the word "Gocco" as a part of this
product
name."
The application scene Hayama kept imagining during the development of
"Print Gocco"
was a family sharing fun of printing through make-believe print play,
"Print Gocco",
at home.
The above picture shows sales demonstration in product launch, which
attracted
the interest of adults as well as children. |
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