Dacom, Inc. was founded in 1966 by two ex-Lockheed engineers, Daniel Hochman, President, and Don Weber, Vice President, building on their pioneering work on digital image compression invented for satellite communications.The theoretical foundations are articulated in papers published in the early 1960s. See for example "Adaptive Telemetry and Data Compression", Daniel Hochman and Don R. Weber, Aerospace Telemetry, Vol.II, Prentice Hall, 1966. Their work resulted in the first commercial digital fax"Fax: The Principles and Practice of Facsimile Communication, Daniel M. Costigan, Chilton Book Company, 1971, Page 239. See also Hochman and Weber's formal presentation of the digital fax at the 1970 IEEE International Conference on Communications, which is cited in the professional literature discussing the origins of digital facsimile: "Dacom Facsimile Data Compression Techniques", Daniel Hochman and Donald Weber, IEEE ICC70 Proceedings of the International Conference on Communications, San Francisco, June pp. 20.14-20.21." machine and later the first sub-minute facsimile transmission over a single standard phone line.Fax, Specs and Projections, IEEE Spectrum, 9/1974 pp. 77-88. Summary table of comparative fax specs in 1974 also cited in Telecommunications Media for the Delivery of Educational Programming, Richard Ballard and Lester F. Eastwood, Washington University Center for Technology November 1974 In 1973 Dacom was recipient of the IR-100 AwardIndustrial Research Magazine, 1973 IR New Product Annual Industrial Research Magazine, 1973 IR New Product Annual, p.34 and database of previous R&D-100 winners (the name was later changed to the R&D 100 Awards) for the most significant new product in Information Technology. The patents and technology developed by Dacom have become the foundation of the modern desktop fax machine.
History From the late 1950s Daniel Hochman, a pioneer in digital electronics, was head of a division of Lockheed Missiles & Space Company in Sunnyvale, California. In 1959 Hochman's team at Lockheed unveiled a 9-pound miniature television system that could transmit pictures from as far as 1000 miles in space, and in the early 1960s was working to develop a high-speed communications system for the transmission of images from space.Miniature TV System for Use in Missiles Developed by Lockheed, The Wall Street Journal, February 12, 1959Digital Systems in Space Communications, Daniel Hochman, Proceedings of the Third International Congress of Aeronautical Sciences, Stockholm, 1962 The team faced two related problems: the density of data of a high-resolution photograph, and the low-power, low-capacity transmitters on board satellites.Switching Theory in Space Technology, Space-Borne Digital System for Data Bandwidth Compression by Daniel Hochman Pages 333 - 351, Stanford University Press To address these problems, Hochman brought in Donald Weber to work on the problem of data compression - to achieve a higher rate of data transmitted with the same low-power equipment.Black Box Edits Data in Space, Sunnyvale Daily Standard, October 2, 1964
In 1966 Hochman and Weber realized the potential application of the technology they had invented to create a digital facsimile machine, capable of transmitting images over a standard phone line in considerably less time than the then-current state-of-the-art analog facsimile machines offered by Xerox, Magnavox, and Stewart Warner. They left Lockheed to form their own company: Dacom (which stood for Data Compression).
The first systems were models DFC-10 and the Dacom 111, which came to market in the late 1960s. Hochman and Weber presented Dacom's data compression technology at the 1970 International Conference on Communications in a paper which has been since cited as a seminal work in the field of image digitization and data compression.Dacom Facsimile Data Compression Techniques, Daniel Hochman and Donald Weber, IEEE ICC70 Proceedings of the International Conference on Communications, San Francisco, June 1970, pp. 20.14-20.21. The company was awarded a number of patents that constitute the foundation of modern data compression and facsimile transmission (see table below).Don Weber - Dacom patents
1971 brought a partnership with CBS and Savin to provide both development funds and commercial distribution for Dacom. Savin was a major distributor of Ricoh products at the time. The joint venture resulted in the creation of Rapifax Company, which purchased a majority interest in Dacom and was responsible for marketing Dacom products. The Dacom 412 Secure Fax, the first digital sub-minute facsimile came to market shortly after and in 1973 was awarded the IR-100 Best Product of the Year award."Fax, Specs and Projections", IEEE Spectrum, 9/1974 pp. 77-88.Industrial Research Magazine 1973 I-R New Product Annual, Page 34.
Also, in 1973 a majority interest in Rapifax was sold to Ricoh, a Japanese manufacturing company, which purchased the CBS holdings in the company. Dacom became a wholly owned subsidiary of Rapifax and its technology was transferred to the parent company. Savin retained a 23% in Rapifax, which was subsequently sold to Ricoh as well. Ricoh moved R&D and manufacturing to Japan, a move unsuccessfully contested by Dacom founders in court. Dacom technology was ultimately incorporated into the Ricoh brand fax machines.Savin Sues to Block Sale of Rapifax Stock to Ricoh, Seeks Rapifax Holder Meeting, The Wall Street Journal, May 13, 1977San Diego Business Journal, March 1, 1993, page 3
Dacom, Inc. succeeded not only in developing breakthrough technologyMore information on the development of the fax can be found in the Daniel Hochman biographical file at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum archives. but successfully marketed high-end facsimile equipment in the 1970s for general business and special niche markets, including government agencies, military communications, and remote newspaper publishing.How the Monitor Spans a Continent in Miilliseconds, Stephen Silha, The Christian Science Monitor, Jan 21, 1974 In the mid-1970s, the Rapifax 100 established itself as the market leader in the "ultrafast facsimile market".More Entries Are Expected in Quick Phone Facsimiles, The New York Times, January 23, 1978
Patents Assigned to Dacom, Inc.
Patent No. Description Inventors Date granted FR2053965CA917571US4135214 A method and apparatus wherein novel adaptive encoding and decoding processes are utilized to reduce the quantity of symbols or descriptors required to transmit Donald R. Weber 4/16/197112/26/19721/16/1979 US3868477 Binary facsimile communication system employing an automatic contrast enhancement method Howard Katzman 2/25/1975 GB1409365US3916095CA1002175-7 Dual-line data compression method and system for compressing, transmitting and reproducing facsimile data Donald R. WeberLou JosephEdward A. PoeRalph W. Austed 10/8197510/28/197512/21/1975 US3965290 Video-to-binary conversion apparatus for use in image reproduction systems and the like to convert an input video signal to an output binary signal… James G. Tisue 6/24/1976 US4000368 An electronic non-uniform clock generating apparatus including a modulo N counter for counting uniform clock pulses in a controlled manner to develop a series James G. Tisue 12/28/1976 US 4084196 An electronic half-tone generating circuit for enabling a black and white facsimile transmission system to accurately and efficiently transmit and reproduce images including shades… James G. Tisue Donald R. Weber Peter A. Johanson 4/11/1978 US4107610 A data handling system for converting an analog signal into binary form for storage or transmission to a remote receiver and subsequent reconstruction back… Donald R. Weber 8/15/1978
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