Just 5 years old but already experienced a lot.

2015

• An idea is born...

  Our founder Andreas Schmidt has more than 25 years of experience in training, presentation and sales of 3D CAM/CAM software. Mainly with customers in the German automotive, aerospace and mechanical engineering industries. He stumpled over a platform named "Alibaba" which offers chinese wall printers - and that won´t let him go. He now plans to import and distribute such devices.

  Januar 2015

  
• Anticipation is the best joy, supposedly.

  With high hopes and expectations, a first printer is ordered from China for $18,000. The supplier seems reputable and is very courteous and friendly. 

   

  Februar 2015

  
• Shattered Dreams

  The Chinese printer finally arrives, but bursts into flames on the first attempt to print: The device briefly goes up, then down, and the control cabinet burns with an open flame. Of course, the Chinese manufacturer is no longer reachable from the day on, and in addition to all the time and hope, all the money is lost. Phew, the supposedly great printer is suddenly just a mountain of very expensive scrap metal from the Far East! The dreams have literally "gone up in smoke". And it was by no means the cheapest printer you can buy there!

  März 2015
• Don´t give up!

  "You can have bad luck, but you don't give up right away," Andreas says to himself and is determined to try again. After all, he has  learned that a wall printer is a complex and costly technical device if it is to function reliably and safely for a long time. Therefore, after the first bad investment, the very cheap devices, which are often offered for less than 5,000 dollars, are no longer an option. So one of the more expensive printers is ordered from one of the many Chinese suppliers for another 18,000 dollars. The saleswoman is extremely friendly, helpful and obliging.

  April 2015
• A second try

  The second printer arrives, and it even comes with a laptop. Madness! The several years old gem with cracked Chinese Windows and a lot of pirated copies of every imaginable software shows heavy signs of use, but at least the printer prints - at least to some extent. "Printing" here means that it throws ink at the wall, but the problems with it are unfortunately so severe that not a single print will be paid for by customers in the coming weeks. The thing just doesn't work reliably: Ink failures, sensor errors, graphics problems, transmission interruptions, mechanical defects, clogged nozzles, software crashes, and to top it all off, only very slow and questionable help in creepy English. And worst of all, lots of disappointed and frustrated customers and ultimately NO revenue. So even more time and much more money was lost. Besides all the endless frustration, almost $40,000 has now ultimately gone down the drain for these two China printers!

  Mai 2015
• Bye Bye chinese printers.

  "I will build it myself!"

  This is how the first sketches, ideas and designs for "the perfect wall printer" are created. The search for high-quality components and reliable suppliers begins. The many years of experience in planning and design naturally benefit the project greatly.

  August 2015

  
• "Made in Germany"

  Most of the suppliers have been found. Even laser technology, print heads and ink are sourced only from leading companies in the EU. A first employee develops an initial software for the printer, which, however, does not yet lead to success.

  September 2015

  

2016

• Patents registered

  Solutions to all upcoming difficulties have been found in recent months - many of them new and unexpected. With the help of a leading German patent attorney, wallPen is applying for numerous national and international patents.

  Februar 2016

  
• Setback followed by a stroke of luck

  The Southeast European programmer ended months of work by going on Easter vacation and not returning to Germany without notice. There was a good reason for this: his program simply did not work. After an initial shock, it turned into a stroke of luck: programmer Ramazan Köprülü got in touch and became wallPen's first "serious" employee, eventually developing software that delivers high-quality printing results. To this day, his code is the backbone of wallPen.

  April 2016
• No ink flow

  The first test print begins. The printer runs and moves across the surface - but no ink flows. In search of a solution to the problem, Jochen joins the team. He turns the right screw and helps us achieve the first successful print.

  Mai 2016
• It works!!

  The first successful wall print decorated our flipchart tab with a knight in black and white. The printer works as it should! We are in a cautious first euphoria.

  Juni 2016

  
• Contacts from first customers

  Things are developing at a rapid pace. In forums and by word of mouth, the news spreads: Now there is a German wall printer. While Niklas is writing the app for the tablet to operate the printer, Andreas is already receiving calls from all over the world. The first interested customers are already sending binding orders.

  Juli bis September 2016
• Delivery starts soon

  The dates for the first deliveries are getting closer. The app is updated once again. The team receives contacts from several agencies, the first distribution partners are signed up. The days seem far too short to do all the things that still need to be done before the market launch.

  November 2016

2017

• Critical phase of completion

  The last phase before completion is always the most exciting. After daily practical tests, small optimizations and setting changes are made. Everyone in the team is excited - it's a bit like the days before a birth.

  Januar 2017

  
• The launch of the wallPen E1

  The customers have been trained, the bags sewn and printed, and the device is being extensively tested. In March, the first "wallPen E1" will start their journey into the world. The wallPen is already attracting a lot of attention in the press, including a visit by the "IHK-Journal" to the company's headquarters in Wissen.

  Februar 2017

2018

• The wallPen E1plus, the next generation

  After the successful start with the wallPen E1, the next generation of the wallPen is presented after 1.5 years: The "E1plus" is not only visually redesigned, but also technically a new class by a complete revision of the vertical axis system, the ink supply and the UV curing. Since existing customers are very important to us, we offer them an upgrade from E1 to E1plus at cost price. Almost all customers take advantage of this offer!

  Oktober 2018

  
• It´s going up

  The year 2018 is coming to an end and is already closed with a positive business balance after a slight loss in 2017.

  Dezember 2018

2019

• The wallPen Processor 2.x

  The new generation 2.0 of the proprietary wallPen RIP software gets a completely new and modern user interface, a comprehensive statistics toolset and full support of ICC profiles for optimal color reproduction on different surfaces. The update is free of charge for existing customers.

  September 2019
• A new office

  The fact that the 2019 financial year can once again close on a positive note proves that wallPen is growing sustainably and strongly and that we are now moving into our new and much larger premises in the neighboring town of Etzbach with 10 employees.

  Dezember 2019

2020

• The wallPen Processor 3.x

  With version 3.0 of our RIP software, MacOS is now supported for the first time. In addition, the calculation times are reduced to a minimum by the latest technologies such as multi-threading and multi-processing. The user interface is again completely revised and the software is translated into numerous languages.

  Januar 2020
• Continuing on the road to success

  For the third business year in a row, wallPen GmbH can look back on a strong increase in sales and profits. Despite the pandemic, we have held our ground very stably and are still on a very successful path with an increase in sales of almost 50% (!) compared to the previous year. For our customers, we are an even stronger partner and stand for investment security and innovative strength.

  Dezember 2020

2021

• It´s getting to tight

  Due to our expansion and increasing production numbers the existing space is no longer sufficient. The first talks with architects take place and the search for a suitable building site is in full swing.

  September 2021
• The new wallPen® E2 - the gold standart in vertical printing

  After almost 2 years of development and many thousands of hours, we officially present the wallPen E2. A revolutonary wall printer, designed and developed from scratch, comprehensive with its own hardware & software and much higher resolution and printing speed.

  Oktober 2021

  
• Another new office

  The space in the office has simply become much too small for us, we are moving out of there and we are moving into premises twice as large. This will only be a stopover, because the planning for our new building is taking more and more shape. We hope for a timely start of construction. 

  In the new premises in Wissen we will have the possibility to control the complete production, administration, marketing sales and technical support centrally from one location. Training sessions with painting contractors and potential customers will be conducted centrally here. We are constantly looking for new employees to strengthen the support, sales and production teams. wallPen is on course and looking forward to new comrades-in-arms who believe in our ideas. 

  Dezember 2021

  

  

2022

• The End?

  But not after all! We will continue to write our story every day. It remains exciting and certainly not boring.
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  November 2022