OKI today announced the development of the FP21X, a new passbook printer for financial institutions in China. The model will be exhibited at the China International Exhibition on Financial Banking Technology & Equipment 2011 (CIFTEE) to be held in Beijing from September 1. The new passbook printer meets growing demand for automated terminals at Chinese financial institutions. It also offers a page mark reading function, the first available in China. The product will be available from December 2011.

“The trend to automate reception tasks at financial institutions in China in recent years is expected to drive growing demand for automated terminals,” says Shinya Kamagami, Executive Officer and General Manager of Systems Hardware Division at OKI. “Previously, we achieved significant success with the FP21A, a conventional passbook printer. In response to growing demand for automated terminals, we developed the FP21X, a new passbook printer that offers page mark reading functions and is capable of handling high-resistance magnetic stripes. This passbook printer is the first in the Chinese market to offer page mark reading.”

FP21X realizes highly responsive operations for automated terminals with the following functions: - The standard configuration incorporates both low- and high-resistance magnetic heads. - The device features an exclusive module for page mark reading that reads barcodes on the surface of the passbook and prevents incorrect printing on incorrect pages. (Vertical bars and horizontal bars with timing that can be read.)

The FP21X also reduces the processing time and offers improved reliability over conventional models. The newly developed print head incorporates printing technologies previously applied only for high-end and high-speed models and a print head pin drive optimized for high-speed print throughput.

OKI manufactures electronic parts such as printing head, sensors and motors, as well as major parts such as power units and page mark reading units. For this reason, the overall quality of the device, from components to final product, can be centralized, resulting in a high-quality product. Also, fewer maintenance parts improve maintainability while maintaining high quality.

In addition to its history in the Japanese market, OKI features a track record in Asian markets, including China and Korea. OKI plans to enhance its product lineup of passbook printers suitably integrated into automated terminals and make its full-scale entry into the Chinese market with the launch of the FP21X.

Sales Plan

Price: Open Shipment: December 2011 (planned) Target sales: 10,000 units within five years