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's Jimucon SJ-9500 is the latest in a long line of these Frankenstein machines
- 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.
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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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Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.