The "Handy-Writer HW-7", announced by Casio Computer in May 1987, was developed as a completely new type of word processor, enabling easy printing at the user's preferred location, without being limited by factors such as paper thickness or size.
By developing an "ultra-compact manual tracking printer" and custom LSI for printer control, and using innovations like unique high-density mounting technology, Casio made it possible to freely print in both the vertical and horizontal direction, simply by placing the unit at the location to be printed and gently moving it. This unit could print directly on a wide variety papers which were difficult to print on using a conventional word processor (such as notebooks, date books, postcards and envelopes), and was accepted at a broad range of levels as a product which created new demand for word processing.
The system became popular not only for personal use, but also for business applications such as entering characters on architectural design drawings -- a case where direct printing was impossible due to the paper size. In March of the following year (1988), Casio also marketed the "Minitracer HW-7K ", a model designed specifically for architectural design and equipped with built-in architectural terminology.
