Summa Inc. formed in January 2000 after the merger of AirMark, Inc., WestComp, Inc., and CalComp Display Products, Inc. (formerly Summagraphics).
Summa's rich history began in a factory raised in Gistel, Belgium in 1973. The factory was established to assemble high-tech recording devices used in, among other things, the manufacture of precision optical lens. Summa's evolution into vinyl imaging started in 1987, when it began modifying pen-plotters for use in vinyl-cutting applications. That evolution led to what Summa is today, a recognized global leader in vinyl cutting and imaging equipment for the sign, outdoor advertising and aerospace markets.
1973 |
Summa's Gistel, Belgium factory opens for the purpose of assembling and distributing analog recorders to the European market. |
1984 |
Summa introduces DMP40V pen plotters. |
1985 |
Merger with Houston Instrument, Inc. positions Summa firmly in recorder, pen plotter and digitizer markets. |
1987 |
Summa introduces first generation of vinyl cutting plotters for sign making: the DMP40V and the DMP-65C. |
1988 |
Summa introduces a new generation of professional large format pen-plotters for the drafting industry: the DMP-60. |
1989 |
Summa breaks through on the global sign market with the introduction of wide model vinyl cutters: the DMP-67C and DMP-68C. |
1990 |
Summa introduces the DMP100V pen plotter. |
1990 |
Merger with Summagraphics Corp. further establishes company as a leader in the design, manufacture and sale of vinyl imaging equipment for use in the sign-making market. |
1991 |
Summa introduces the DMP-100C, addressing market demand for wider cutting capability and increased production throughput. |
1992 |
Boeing adopts DMP-65C cutters for use in painting and maintenance markings of its commercial aircraft, firmly establishing Summa as the leader in the aerospace marking industry. |
1992 |
Summa introduces the T1000 vinyl cutter, the world's first combination sprocket and fiction feed cutter. With its tangential cutting head and wide cutting ability, the 40-inch T1000 gains instant popularity in the monument market, which was previously confined to 15-inch width sprocket-fed sandblast media. |
1993 |
Summa introduces SummaChrome, the world's first thermal transfer printer for the sign industry. |
1994 |
Summa introduces SummaSign, the world's first series of high-speed vinyl cutters available in Tangential and Drag-Knife models. Patented tracking technology on SummaSign helps to establish Summa's reputation for the most accurate tracking plotters in the sign industry. |
1995 |
Summa introduces OPOS, an optical positioning system for SummaSign Pro cutters. OPOS puts Summa firmly in the lead for automated contour cutting of printed vinyl graphics in anticipation of the exploding digital printer market. OPOS remains the dominant technology of its kind to this day. |
1996 |
Summa introduces second generation of the SummaSign Series. The SummaSign Pro sets new industry benchmarks for speed, tracking accuracy and thick material cutting force. SummaSign Pro quickly becomes the best-selling vinyl cutter in the performance-conscious European market. |
1996 |
Summa introduces first generation of the SummaCut Series, the world's first entry-priced vinyl cutters to offer performance that rivals the competition's high-end cutters. |
1996 |
Summa enters into master distributor agreement with WestComp, Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the SummaSign Pro line of vinyl cutters. |
1996 |
Summa sells SummaChrome printer technology to WestComp. |
1997 |
Summa introduces SummaPaint PC 1500, its first-generation inkjet plotter. |
1997 |
Summa enters into OEM agreement with WestComp to distribute SummaSign Pro cutters under the DuraCut brand. |
1998 |
WestComp introduces DuraChrome, the world's largest thermal transfer printer, which extends its technology lead in outdoor-ready sign printing. |
1999 |
Summa and WestComp merge, forming the first credible entity to challenge Gerber Scientific, Inc.'s dominance in integrated printing and cutting technologies for the sign-making market. |
1999 |
Summa introduces second generation of the SummaCut Series. The SummaCut D60 24-inch vinyl cutter obliterates the lines between entry-price and high-end vinyl cutters, quickly becoming the best-selling Summa cutter in company history. |
1999 |
Summa introduces Summa ColorControl software, high-speed RIP software for DuraChrome printers to further expand its integrated offering in the vinyl printing and cutting markets. |
1999 |
Summa acquires AirMark, Inc., a leading sign supply and equipment dealer in Seattle, Washington, and an innovator in national mail order and Internet distribution to form SummaDirect, the industry's first manufacturer direct sales channel for vinyl imaging equipment. Summa's worldwide headquarters relocates to AirMark's Seattle facility. |
2000 |
Summa enhances SummaCut line with introduction of the SummaCut D120, the first 48-inch vinyl cutter priced under $4000 in the US. The SummaCut D120 also features the industry's first USB-port connectivity. The new SummaCut D60U is also introduced, featuring the new USB-port connectivity, further expanding its popularity and enhancing its appeal in the Macintosh market. |
2000 |
Summa opens office in Boston to more effectively serve North American and Latin American markets. |
2001 |
Summa launches SummaDirect UK. Modeled after the successful SummaDirect mail-order catalog and Internet sales channel in the US, SummaDirect UK quickly turns the UK into Summa's fastest growing market in Europe. |
2001 |
Summa introduces the Summa DC2, a second generation DuraChrome, with the industry's first Smart Ribbon technology, which automatically identifies ribbon color and adjusts the printer to optimal settings for each color. |
2001 |
Summa acquires land and buildings outside Boston and moves Eastern division into larger, company-owned facility, which enables it to better serve its growing Eastern US and South American business. |
2002 |
Summa expands its company-owned headquarters in Seattle, Washington, to better serve its expanding global markets, nearly doubling its size. |
2002 |
Summa expands its company-owned factory in Gistel, Belgium to expand manufacturing capacity in anticipation of a new product under development, nearly doubling its size. |
2002 |
Summa introduces Summa DC3, a new printer from the ground up and the world's first wide format thermal transfer printer to combine low-cost operation with totally integrated print and cut operation. |
2003 |
Boeing adopts Summa's SummaSign Pro T1400A for use in aircraft painting and maintenance marking; a unique vinyl cutter, the 53-inch T1400A's dual head design combines tangential cutting and pen plotting in a single production step, allowing Boeing technicians to cut thousands of paint stencils that are also labeled with individual part numbers. |
2003 |
Summa acquires 2.8 acres in the Centennial Park business development in Peabody, Massachusetts, to make way for further expansion and to better serve the rapidly growing needs of Summa customers in the Eastern US and Latin America. Completion of the planned 34,500 square foot warehouse and office facility is scheduled for mid 2006. |
2004 |
Summa introduces the new SL line of SummaSign Pro cutters. Among their many enhancements, the SummaSign Pro SL D-Series and T-Series cutters feature improved firmware programming, more on-board memory, USB connectivity, and an updated OPOS optical positioning system as standard equipment. |
2004 |
Summa introduces the new SE line of SummaCut cutters. SummaCut SE cutters feature new deluxe stands with adjustable front and rear media baskets and the OPOS optical positioning system as standard equipment. |
2004 |
Summa introduces OPOS 2.0, an updated optical positioning system with automated routines for repeat die-cutting of multiple copies from both sheet and roll-feed materials. The OPOS 2.0 system is made standard on all SummaSign Pro SL and SummaCut SE cutters. Users of the original OPOS system are upgrade to OPOS 2.0 at no charge. |
2005 |
Summa introduces the all-new Summa S Class line of premium vinyl cutters. Summa S Class cutters offer a host of new features that are new to the vinyl cutter industry, further extending Summa's position as the technology and innovation leader in vinyl cutting industry. |
2005 |
Summa introduces OPOS X, an all-new version of its industry-leading optical positioning system. Among the many enhancements is a new X-sensor, which scans the full light spectrum to enable OPOS X-equipped cutters to precisely locate registration marks a wide range of printed output, including images with thick over-laminates. The OPOS X system is available exclusively on Summa S Class vinyl cutters. |
2006 |
Summa introduces Summa DC4, its fourth-generation DuraChrome-class printer. Combining the wider width and variable width media of earlier DC printers, with the automation and built-in contour cutting of the Summa DC3 printer, Summa DC4 further establishes Summa's dominance in thermal transfer printing technology. |
2006 |
FastSigns, North America's leading sign franchise, selects Summa S Class vinyl and contour cutters as the specified cutter for all FastSigns franchises worldwide. With nearly 500 stores as of early 2006, FastSigns is also one of the the largest and fastest growing sign franchises in the world. |
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