In the years following World War I, C-T-R's engineering and research staff developed
new and improved mechanisms to meet the broadening needs of its customers. In 1920, the
company introduced the lock autograph recorder, the first complete school time control
system, and launched the Electric Accounting Machine. In 1921, the company acquired the
business of the Ticketograph Company of Chicago, and certain patents and other property
of the Peirce Accounting Machine Company. The Carroll Rotary Press was developed in
1924 to produce cards at high speed, and punched card capacity was doubled.
The growth and extension of C-T-R's activities made the old name of the company too
limited, and, on February 14, 1924, C-T-R's name was formally changed to International
Business Machines Corporation. By then, the company's business had expanded both
geographically and functionally, including the completion of three manufacturing
facilities in Europe.
A printing tabulator is introduced by C-T-R. Prior to its invention, operators would
take the totals from machine counters and manually record them on tally sheets and
other documents. This limited speed and increased the margin for human error. The
printing tabulator not only improved speed and accuracy, but set the stage for further
mechanization of the tabulation process.
Lock Autograph Recorder is developed and released.
