The global boom in having a personal computer in the office or at home began in the 1980s, first with the arrival of IBM’s PC 5150 on August 12, 1981, and then with the launch of the Macintosh 128K. What has been erased from virtually every computer history book is that Mexico entered this battle with the launch of the Printaform Cado Systems computer.

The computer entered this war for three main reasons: that IBM and Macintosh computers were very expensive for the vast majority of Mexicans, that President José López Portillo promoted the creation of a “Mexican technology industry” and that Printaform, a Mexican company that was born manufacturing stationery products, and by the 80s it already had experience in the manufacture of calculators, electric typewriters, cash registers and other cybernetic devices.

But the Cado Systems had only been Printaform’s first success, since months later it gave a stronger hit with the launch, at a fair in the United States, of the “Printaform Columbia draggable with 12-inch monitor”, which represented the future materialized, since people could even travel with it to any part of the world by dragging it like a suitcase and easily placing it under the seat of an airplane.

“The Quixote of communication”

There is a photo of the signing of the agreement between the two computer technology businessmen, the image dates back to 1989. Because of all these incredible achievements, Jorge Espinosa Mireles began to be called “The Quixote of communication” and his company Printaform as “The yellow giant”, as it added a team of more than 5 thousand distributors and a plant to manufacture computers in Hermosillo, Sonora.

The following computer models were distributed through pre-sales; people left cash and checks for up to $5,000 dollars to get their Printaform, especially when the multimedia Printaform arrived in which they could even view encyclopedias like Encarta and write texts with great ease, things could not go better for Printaform, until 1992 arrived.

The reason why Printaform collapsed as a computer giant

In that year, Jorge Espinosa Mireles was kidnapped by members of the Partido Revolucionario Obrero Clandestino Unión del Pueblo (PROCUP), who left him and his family practically bankrupt after paying his ransom.

Printaform tried to get up, but they did not count on the fact that the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would come in full business recovery. With the opening of a large number of foreign technology brands entering the country, especially IBM and Macintosh, Printaform had only to accept its exit from the race to dominate the global computer market.

The brand continues to exist but is only dedicated to office furniture. The man who made Printaform great died last January 2021.

Author Name: Manuel Espinosa