In 1984, Canon introduced the world's first digital copying machine. Eight years later, the company built on that core technology and began selling a digital multifunction office system that included fax and print functions. Since then, Canon has moved ahead with networking and color technology, and has now developed a multifunction office system that even provides powerful support for knowledge work. That system is the imageRUNNER ADVANCE series, which was launched in 2009.
The imageRUNNER ADVANCE not only provides a high level of performance with its copy, scan/send, fax, and print functions, but is also easy to customize in accordance with specific usages and objectives. In addition, it is highly compatible with existing systems in the workplace and, because it can also be used as a simple fileserver, even promotes the streamlining of work.
As indicated in its name, the imageRUNNER ADVANCE line of multifunction office systems continue to offer "advancements" in a manner that allows users to utilize combinations of a variety of functions in the workplace.
The curtain has been raised on a new generation of multifunction office systems. The imageRUNNER ADVANCE holds the potential to transform the way multifunction office systems are used. We asked four of the engineers who developed the product to describe its features and representative functions, and to tell us about some of their experiences during the development process.
- Interview and editorial organization
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- Tadahiro Suda
- Born in Fukushima Prefecture in 1955. After eight years of editing work at communications and publishing companies, struck out on his own in 1987 and founded an editing production agency. Soon shifted his focus to freelance journalism and writing, working extensively for business information journals and job-transfer publications. In recent years, writing work has shifted from print media to portal sites, often focusing on the history of technological developments and career development for engineers.
