Epson sprang into being in 1961, under the name Shinshu Seiki. A Japanese company, it was a subsidiary of Seiko and made precision parts for those famous watches. The precision timers used at the 1964 Olympics were made by them and they also landed a contract to make a printer. The EP 101 printer, in fact. They had 90% of the world market for these printers up until the 1980's, producing about 100,000 per month.
They invented the LCD display, a low-current alternative to the electronic watches then in use. This in turn led to LCD watches. In 1975 they set up offices in Torrance, California, incorporated as Epson, America and distributed Shinshu Seiki products from there.
They developed the MX 80 late in 1978 after an indifferent response to their first computer, the TX-80. It took two years to get it up and running, but it quickly became the most popular printer in the US, eventually becoming the industry standard.
The prototypes of their first personal computer, the QX-10 reached the USA in 1982 and Shinshu Seiki changed its name to Epson Corporation later that year. The company grew at a startling rate between 1980 and 1983, rocketing from 17 employees to more than 260.
