California Computer Products, Inc.

California Computer Products, Inc. (CalComp) was incorporated in 1958 in California. But the story really begins a few years earlier, around 1953, when engineers Gene Seid and Robert Morton were building one of the world’s first digital plotters out of a makeshift workshop. For the first few years, the company focused mostly on military contracts. Then, in 1959, CalComp made a breakthrough by inventing the world’s first digital drum plotter, a device that could translate computer data into detailed maps, architectural plans, and engineering drawings. Sales of their Model 565 drum plotter took off by 1961, giving the company enough momentum to go public. That success shifted CalComp’s focus toward commercial markets, and over time, they expanded their lineup to include pen and electrostatic plotters, printers, digitizers, and scanners, tools architects, engineers, and designers relied on. By the 1980s, CalComp had grown into an international presence with offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. The company changed hands a couple of times, first acquired by Sanders Associates in 1980, then by Lockheed Corporation in 1986. 

In 1968, CalComp organized a computer art competition that offered scholarships to individual artists and universities, signaling their commitment to exploring the creative potential of technology. Kerry Strand, who worked at CalComp at the time, won first prize in the 6th Annual Computer Art Contest with Hummingbird. His other works, including Crest, The Snail, and The Fisherman, were shown under the CalComp artist group at Cybernetic Serendipity in London and Tendencies 4 in Zagreb. Alongside Strand, CalComp published and distributed works by Doyle Cavin, Ace Hudson, Dee Hudson, Larry Jenkins, and Jane Moon. Their presence at Cybernetic Serendipity placed them in the company of IBM, Boeing, Bell Labs, General Motors, Westinghouse, and the U.S. Air Force Research Labs, as well as pioneering figures like Charles Csuri, Michael Noll, Frieder Nake, John Whitney, and Nam June Paik. CalComp positioned technology as a partner in the creative process, pushing the boundaries of what could constitute art.