May 2023

WACOM
STOR Y BOOK

Allow us to talk about Wacom today

ISSUE

1

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Wacom and Ink :The permanent lines that express our thoughts and emotions

06“Allow me to indulge on the subject of Wacom”
Wacom President and CEO Nobutaka Ide (Nobu)

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A promise to Deliver an Experience journey

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Wacom’s promise of delivering an experience journey

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How the ETC Team demonstrated a new approach to productdevelopment : Wacom® Cintiq®︎ Pro 27

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The creators who utilize Wacom products

34

How Wacom creates an ecosystem around its technologies

36

Developing new products with Wacom : Lenovo & Samsung

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Some exciting projects to look out for : Z-kai, Pilot, & mui Lab

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Wacom supports digitalization, whenever and wherever
How organizations around the world have implemented Wacom business solutions

Co nten t s

42“The world is full of potential”
Honing the Powers of Imagination & Social Foresight46

How digital ink changes the experience of drawing & writing

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Enriching digital ink experiences : KISEKI ART and Wacom Yuify

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How technological innovation will elevate the future : EMR® and Active ES®

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What keeps a global investor like Shuhei Abe transfixed on Wacom

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Wacom community
Collaborating with various community partners toward the future

68

Connected Ink : A toy box of creativity and a venue for supporting art,education, and technology

70

Wacom’s Social Initiatives
Embracing the Sparks in Team Members Hearts

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Eco-sustainability at Wacom
Wacom’s initiative to pursue as a technology leadership company

76

Information Disclosure Based on the TCFD recommendations

78

Wacom Group Governance82

Company data83

Six capitals for value creation

84

The history of Wacom
From the company’s founding in 1983 to the present day

86“Meaningful Growth”
Toward a world that is not just about measurable metrics

COVER PHOTO
Photographer : Sho Kato (timeties)
Retoucher : Masaru Miyamoto (alpharobe)

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Work of art : sousaku 2023 by Bunta

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Nobu’s Letter

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Editor’s note

Wacom and Ink:
The permanent lines that express
our thoughts and emotions

WhatisInk
thatWacom
values?

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A handwritten thank you note given to a parent by their own child. A random
doodle or a heartfelt confession, etched in the sand along the seashore. Atime and place jotted down on the edge of a notebook. Lines—both drawn /written , produced with a finger or a tool—and the letters or pictures they form
don’t have to be clever to light a tiny spark in the hearts of fellow scribblers.
Lines that carry emotions and moods with them—at Wacom, we refer to themas Ink. Our job at Wacom is to create instruments with which users can give
shape to their inner thoughts by inscribing, etching, and carving lines. It is only
natural for us at Wacom to try serving our deep-seated instinct to draw / writeand also to want people to put utmost care into their lines—their ink.
At Wacom, we create digital instruments such as digital pens, pen displays,
and pen tablets. But just as pens require ink, digital pens require digital ink.
Improving the technology of digital pens is not enough; we must also pushdigital ink technology to the next level. This philosophy is reflected in WILL™
(Wacom Ink Layer Language), our digital ink technology. Physical ink gradually
discolors and eventually disappears due to the passage of time and changes
in the environment. Take the Kojiki, for example. Although this Japanesechronicle was originally written in the 8th century, the oldest existing copy
is from the 14th century. This copy is less than a millennium old, but it stillrequires meticulous preservation and restoration to ensure it does not fade into
dust in the near future. And digital ink? It is unaffected by space and time. It
can record, be preserved, duplicated, and moved in ways that overcome thelimitations of physical ink.
Digital ink also allows for more abstract information—thoughts and feelings—
to be added to the lines for elaboration, analysis, and preservation. We haveyet to tap into the full potential of digital ink. As long as humans exist, there will
be people drawing / writing . Technological advances have seen the medium forink change from rocks to stone tablets, papyrus, parchment, paper, and digital
tablets. Perhaps in the near future, we may see ink applied to yet anothermedium; and there is always the possibility that centuries from now, we may
do away with ink mediums altogether. And yet, even if that were to happen,
the instinct and drive to draw / write will not die away. Wacom wants to serve
this instinctual need to draw / write . That’s why even if we are technically an
instrument provider, we are passionate not simply about developing digitalpens but also about developing experiences that bring out the best of the pen.

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