Comtal

Comtal Corporation

Company type	Private
Industry	Electronics, Digital image processing
Founded	January 1, 1971 (1971-01-01)
Fate	Acquired by 3M
Successor	3M/Comtal
Headquarters	Pasadena, California , United States
Products	Digital image processing equipment (5000 Series, 8000 Series, 8300 Series, Vision One system)
Parent	3M (from 1980)

Comtal Corporation was a United States-based electronics firm focused on digital image processing, founded in the early 1970s and later acquired by 3M in 1980. Its image processing equipment found applications across NASA, military sectors, computer-aided design experts, X-ray technicians, and professionals in signal processing.

History

Founded in the early 1970s in Pasadena, California, Comtal built upon digital image processing research conducted by NASA during the 1960s at the Stennis Space Center. This foundational work led to the creation of the Spectravision system by Aerojet in the late 1960s. The developers of Spectragraph established Comtal around 1971–72, aggressively promoting their digital image display technologies throughout the mid-1970s and surpassing Aerojet’s offerings.

The company introduced its first commercial product, the 5000 Series, in January 1974. Available either as an independent console or as an accessory for minicomputers, it incorporated a dedicated cathode-ray tube display and processor capable of producing 24-bit color images at a resolution of 512×512 progressive scan. Shortly thereafter, the 8000 Series debuted two months later with a 50% faster processing capability, an improved user interface, real-time switching between grayscale and color modes, and a larger screen. By May 1974, the 8300 Series allowed independent manipulation of RGB channels along with false-color grayscale visualization. The Vision One system released in 1977 marked a significant advancement by supporting customizable application software without dependence on mainframe or minicomputer systems, utilizing either charge-coupled device technology or 16-bit RAM storage.

Comtal’s processors were instrumental for NASA in delivering the first clear images of Mars during the 1976 Viking program, as well as processing data from Jupiter transmitted by Voyager 2 in 1977. In addition, NASA contracted Comtal in 1974 to create Portable Image Display Systems (PIDS) aimed at training geologists using imagery from the Landsat satellites captured via MSS sensors at the Earth Resources Laboratory within Stennis Space Center.

After being acquired by 3M in 1980, Comtal continued operations under the name 3M/Comtal while maintaining its Pasadena headquarters.

Notable alumni

• Peggy Cherng, who served as a technical engineer and software manager between 1975 and 1982 before co-founding Panda Express