Cartridge Monkey

The history of Canon

Wednesday 30 May, 2007

With its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Canon's history stretches back farther than its founding in 1937. The company's predecessor was established earlier in 1933 for the purpose of developing and manufacturing a rangefinder camera for 35mm film. Although the company was named Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, Canon - which it is believed implies precision or accuracy - was awarded its name as a variation of the firm's Kwanon camera, which was released in 1934. Indeed, the name Kwanon is itself named after Guan Yin (pronounced Kannon in Japanese) the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy.

Canon's modern business practices operate under the company's corporate philosophy of Kyosei, which - roughly interpreted by Canon - means the cohabitation and communal working of all individuals in a state of "harmony" now and into the future.

"True global companies must foster good relations, not only with their customers and the communities in which they operate, but also with nations and the environment. They must also bear the responsibility for the impact of their activities on society. For this reason, Canon's goal is to contribute to global prosperity and the wellbeing of humankind, which will lead to continuing growth and bring the world closer to achieving kyosei," said Canon.

Although Canon today manufactures a number of products ranging from single lens reflex and compact cameras to printers and ink cartridges, the company's greatest source of revenue continues to be derived from the firm's presence in the market for office-based equipment such as photocopiers; however, Canon's production of analogue photocopiers has now been discontinued.

Indeed, according to the company's figures for 2005, with a global workforce of 115,583 employees, worldwide net sales currently total $31,815 million (£16,098 million); indeed, net sales in Europe alone came to $10,011 million. Although combining sales in the Americas and Europe - 31 per cent of total sales each - show the western world as the greatest source of revenue for the company, the Japanese market was still responsible for 23 per cent of the company's overall net sales for 2005.

However, in terms of US Patent receipts, over the same year the company was overshadowed only by IBM. During that year, IBM received - after a preliminary count - a total of 2,941, compared with Canon's 1,828. Other companies within the top ten list of patent-registering firms include Samsung Electronics, Intel, Hitachi, Toshiba and Fujitsu.

Indeed in other global rankings, Canon has received recognition in a number of areas since 2004, starting with its status as being in 154th and 96th place for worldwide sales and profits respectively by the Fortune Global 500. In June 2005, the Financial Times ranked the company within the FT Global 500 at 106th place and in February 2006 the company's president and chief executive - Fujio Mitarai - was recognised as the 2005 Asia Businessman of the Year.

Over the course of 2007 within the UK, Canon has released a number of new products that compliment and add to its digital imaging and printing range, including the Pixma iP90v and the Pixma iP1800; recent digital camera launches include the release of the PowerShot A560, the Digital Ixus 75 and the Digital Ixus 70. Other printers within Canon's range include the Canon Pixma MP600, the Canon iP4200, the Canon iP5200 and the Canon iP6700D.

Indeed, one of the questions on the minds of those at Canon is to know exactly where you would like to begin.

"Images communicate. They can be quick and simple to understand, or more subtle, complex and ambiguous. At either extreme, they form the only language to cross all world boundaries," said Canon.

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The history of Canon

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