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TechRadar
Wayne Williams

The ultimate steampunk machine? Toshiba glued an old-school dot matrix printer with a DVD drive, a touchscreen display and a PC with two SSDs — and it even runs Windows 10

Toshiba Jimucon SJ-9500.

  • Toshiba’s Jimucon SJ-9500 combines a mix of retro hardware
  • Features include dot matrix printing, DVD drive, touchscreen, SSDs
  • Customizable for industries, offers broad connectivity and energy efficiency

Toshiba has rolled out the Jimucon SJ-9500, an office computer that looks like it emerged from a retro-futuristic design lab.

This all-in-one device, the successor to the SJ-9100, throws together an eclectic mix of hardware: a dot matrix printer, a DVD drive, a touchscreen, and dual SSDs, all running on Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021.

Billed as a tool for boosting business efficiency, it’s a curious blend of legacy and modern tech that feels like something straight out of the '80s with a 2024 twist.

An eccentric addition to any workspace

It’s probably no surprise that, according to PC Watch, Toshiba has been manufacturing its "Jimucon" series since 1982.

This office "workhorse" incorporates a 24-pin dot matrix printer, allowing it to churn out forms at a standard rate of 180 characters per second, with speeds hitting 240 characters per second if you’re in a hurry.

The printer can handle wide-format paper (up to 304.8mm) and tackle multi-copy tasks, producing an original plus up to seven carbon copies, all with a reliable smack of impact printing that would make any old-school office proud.

The machine’s 15-inch color touchscreen (1024x768 resolution) and touch pen support offer a touch of modern convenience. The device is loaded with 8GB of memory and dual 240GB SSDs (one for active tasks and one for storage), and the design even has a slot to stash the keyboard on the main unit to save space.

Functionality-wise, the SJ-9500 is designed with business continuity in mind. Toshiba has included a three-minute battery backup, so even if the power cuts out, you can wrap up whatever task you’re working on.

There’s also a generation management feature that lets users trace data from a few days back, and an optional online backup service acts as a safety net for any crucial data you want to preserve.

The SJ-9500 can be customized to handle industry-specific tasks, making it adaptable for everything from industrial waste management to order processing. And thanks to its range of connectivity options - six USB ports, serial ports, DisplayPort, and Gigabit Ethernet - this machine can link up with everything from barcode scanners to external monitors, making it a versatile, if eccentric, addition to any workspace.

Measuring 538×658×418 mm and weighing in at a hefty 23 kg, the SJ-9500 is no sleek desktop, but Toshiba’s Frankenstein creation manages to cram a full business setup into one unit, and with a power consumption reduced by 7% compared to previous models, it’s designed with some energy efficiency in mind.

For businesses looking for something both functional and unforgettable, the Jimucon SJ-9500 is available to buy across Japan now, although there’s no word on pricing. Toshiba says it plans to sell 1,000 units a year.

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