Models · Murata Machinery, Ltd. (Muratec / Muratec America)
Muratec Fax Machines
Muratec is the office-equipment brand of Murata Machinery, Ltd., a privately held Kyoto manufacturer that entered the facsimile business in 1972 and introduced the unified MURATEC name in 1991. In North America, Muratec America sold fax machines from 1982 and later broadened into digital multifunctional products that combine printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. This overview describes the Muratec fax line as a family — its ITU-T Group 3 office machines and fax-capable multifunction products — rather than cataloguing the specifications of individual models.
By PrinterArchive EditorialEdited by PrinterArchive Editorial
A fax brand within a Japanese machinery group
Muratec is the office- and communication-equipment brand of Murata Machinery, Ltd. (Murata Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha), a privately held company founded in Kyoto in July 1935 as the Nishijin Jacquard Mfg. partnership. Over the following decades Murata Machinery grew into a diversified industrial group whose businesses span textile machinery, machine tools and sheet-metal machinery, factory-automation and logistics systems, and communication equipment. Fax machines and, later, digital multifunctional products belong to that last division, and it is these office products that carry the Muratec name. Reading Muratec as one division of a large machinery company helps explain why its fax line was positioned as durable business equipment sold through dealers rather than as consumer electronics.
From the 'dex' machines to the MURATEC brand
Murata Machinery's facsimile business dates to the early 1970s. In November 1972 the company entered a technical and sales agreement with Graphic Sciences, Inc. of the United States and established Nippon Dex, Corp.; in July 1973 its 'dex 180' facsimile machine obtained what the company describes as Japan's first fax type-approval from the then Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation. In May 1981 Murata Machinery developed its '300 series' of digital facsimile, and in October 1991 it introduced the unified 'MURATEC' brand name its office products have used since. It later began contract manufacturing of facsimile equipment in Shenzhen, China, in May 1994. These milestones are drawn from Murata Machinery's own company history; this page does not assign specifications, prices, or additional dates to the individual machines named.
Muratec in North America
Muratec entered the U.S. market in 1982, initially selling fax machines through private-label agreements with American companies. Company histories note that from 1985 it marketed facsimile products under the Murata name from a corporate headquarters in Texas (Dallas, later Plano). The North American business, Muratec America, Inc., distributed its products through a national business-to-business dealer channel rather than through retail. In August 2017, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. announced its acquisition of Muratec America, describing it as a supplier of MFP solutions and a provider of managed document and cloud services with a history reaching back more than forty years.
The fax class Muratec machines belong to
Muratec's desktop office fax machines belong to the Group 3 class defined by the ITU-T. Recommendation T.4 standardizes Group 3 image coding for document transmission, and Recommendation T.30 defines the call-establishment and transmission procedures used over the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Group 3 is the standard that made office fax interoperable across manufacturers, and Murata Machinery's move to 'digital facsimile' with its 300 series in 1981 coincides with the first generation of Group 3 equipment. Because this reference describes the line at the family level, it does not assign specific resolutions, page-transmission speeds, or modem modulation rates to individual Muratec models; those values are defined per unit and per the ITU-T recommendations a given machine implements, and are stated only where an authoritative source confirms them.
From standalone fax to multifunction products
Like the office-equipment industry as a whole, Muratec's product mix shifted from standalone fax machines toward digital multifunctional products (MFPs) that combine printing, copying, scanning, and faxing in a single networked device. Murata Machinery's communication-equipment division describes these digital multifunctional products as having 'evolved to become network hubs,' supporting paperless workflows and integration with mobile devices, with faxing now one function among several rather than the whole product. As a result, later Muratec fax capability is frequently encountered as a feature of an MFP, a pattern shared across the wider multifunction fax category.
Scope and sourcing of this overview
This page is a neutral, family-level overview of the Muratec fax line rather than a catalogue of individual machines. Corporate and product facts are drawn from Murata Machinery's and Muratec's own materials and from the 2017 acquisition announcement, while the Group 3 fax standard is cited to the ITU-T. Consistent with the archive's source policy, dates, resolutions, speeds, and prices are given only when an authoritative source confirms them, and no specifications are invented to fill gaps for particular models.
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Murata Machinery, Ltd. (Murata Kikai), a privately held company founded in Kyoto, Japan, in July 1935 |
| Fax business origin | Facsimile business from November 1972 (technical and sales agreement with Graphic Sciences, Inc.); the 'dex 180' obtained Japan's first fax type-approval in July 1973 |
| Unified brand | 'MURATEC' brand name introduced October 1991 |
| Product classes | Facsimile machines and digital multifunctional products (printing, copying, scanning, faxing) |
| Fax standard class | Office fax machines are ITU-T Group 3 terminals (T.4 image coding, T.30 procedures) operating over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) |
| North American operation | Muratec America, Inc.; entered the U.S. fax market in 1982; distributed through a national business-to-business dealer channel |
| Ownership change | Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. announced the acquisition of Muratec America in August 2017 |
Sources: Murata Machinery company history; Murata Machinery Communication Equipment division; ITU-T Recommendations T.4 and T.30; Konica Minolta / Keypoint Intelligence acquisition announcement (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- Is Muratec a Japanese company?
- Muratec is the office- and communication-equipment brand of Murata Machinery, Ltd. (Murata Kikai), a privately held company founded in Kyoto, Japan, in 1935. In North America its products have been sold by Muratec America, Inc.
- When did Muratec start making fax machines?
- Murata Machinery entered the facsimile business in 1972 through an agreement with Graphic Sciences, Inc., and its 'dex 180' machine received Japan's first fax type-approval in 1973. The unified MURATEC brand name was introduced in 1991.
- What kind of fax machines does Muratec make?
- Office fax machines in the ITU-T Group 3 class, which operate over the ordinary telephone network, and — increasingly — digital multifunctional products that combine printing, copying, scanning, and faxing in one device.
- Does Muratec still exist?
- Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. announced its acquisition of Muratec America in 2017. Murata Machinery, the parent company, remains an active manufacturer and still lists communication equipment among its divisions.
- Does this page list specific Muratec fax model specifications?
- No. Consistent with the archive's source policy, it describes the line at the family level and does not assign resolutions, transmission speeds, dates, or prices to individual models unless an authoritative source confirms them.
Source transparency (6 sources)
These references support claims made in this entry. The archive uses verified institutional and public-domain sources only; see Source policy.
Sources consulted (6)
- Company History — Murata Machinery, Ltd.
- Communication Equipment Division — Murata Machinery, Ltd.
- Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Announces Acquisition of Muratec America — Keypoint Intelligence
- ITU-T Recommendation T.4: Standardization of Group 3 facsimile terminals for document transmission — International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T)
- ITU-T Recommendation T.30: Procedures for document facsimile transmission in the general switched telephone network — International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T)
- Murata Machinery — Wikipedia
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