COSY
COSY (株式会社COSY) is a privately held Japanese IT company founded in 2006 and based in Kobe, specializing in multi-vendor print management and document workflow automation. It resells PaperCut, develops the KPAX fleet monitoring and Umango OCR platforms, and serves Japanese universities, enterprises, coworking spaces, and SMBs through direct sales, dealers, and US distribution via ACDI.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersAshiya, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What COSY does
COSY (株式会社COSY) is a privately held Japanese IT company founded in 2006 by Morikawa (森川), a former Silicon Valley engineer with an MBA, and headquartered in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, with a sales satellite office in Hiroshima. The company specializes in multi-vendor print management and document workflow automation, selling and integrating solutions across Japanese universities, multi-location enterprises, coworking spaces, and small businesses.
The company's product portfolio centers on three technology pillars. First, COSY is a long-standing authorized reseller and integration partner for PaperCut in Japan, distributing PaperCut MF (enterprise print management with MFD integration, IC card authentication, mobile/BYOD print, and environmental reporting), PaperCut Plus (lightweight SMB/education variant), and PaperCut Hive (serverless cloud-based print management). Second, the company develops its own KPAX platform — a multi-vendor printer fleet management solution that monitors 800,000+ devices and 400,000 customers across 15+ manufacturers and 6,000+ models via SNMP, with REST API and ERP integration (including Konica Minolta FORZA on SAP Business One). Third, COSY develops Umango, a document processing automation tool that applies OCR (including Japanese and handwriting recognition) to scanned and electronic documents, automatically renaming, classifying, and routing files to cloud storage. Supporting offerings include COSY Smart Dashboard (cloud-based multi-vendor reporting), AIOB packaged hardware/software bundles (Chromebook mobility print, large-format MFD card authentication), and a hardware line of IC card and biometric authentication readers from Elatec, HID, Cartadis, and Bio Buddy. COSY also distributes Printreleaf in Japan for paper/carbon offset.
The business model combines PaperCut perpetual licenses with annual maintenance, recurring cloud subscriptions for KPAX, PaperCut Hive, COSY Smart Dashboard, and Printreleaf (volume-based), one-time hardware sales (card readers, AIOB units), and integration/services revenue. Go-to-market blends direct enterprise sales to large Japanese organizations, an authorized dealer and system integrator network in Japan, exclusive US distribution of KPAX through ACDI with Konica Minolta America, and a 2025 global strategic partnership with Fujifilm Business Innovation to distribute Umango worldwide. The company reports 95% retention among Japanese university PaperCut users and measurable outcomes including 30% print cost reduction for customers. COSY employs 1-10 people per disclosed data and has no disclosed external institutional investment.
COSY firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- COSY
- Legal name
- 株式会社COSY
- Website
- https://cosy.co.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- COSY (株式会社COSY) is a privately held Japanese IT company founded in 2006 and based in Kobe, specializing in multi-vendor print management and document workflow automation. It resells PaperCut, develops the KPAX fleet monitoring and Umango OCR platforms, and serves Japanese universities, enterprises, coworking spaces, and SMBs through direct sales, dealers, and US distribution via ACDI.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
COSY industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Enterprise Print Management Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Support Activities for Printing (32312), Printing and Related Support Activities (323)
- SIC
- Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Print & Peripheral Services (Managed Print, scanners, peripherals) (BPAEAIAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Experience Monitoring & Management (DEX/DEM, AIOps for EUC) (BPAEAIAF), Printing & Document Infrastructure (MFP fleets, Print Servers, Managed Print) (EDAEAHAL)
Keywords
Where COSY is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ashiya
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
COSY business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Licenses (PaperCut): PaperCut MF and Plus are sold as perpetual licenses with annual maintenance/support fees. PaperCut Hive operates as a subscription cloud service with annual fees.
- Cloud Services (SaaS): COSY Smart Dashboard, KPAX, and PaperCut Hive are cloud-based subscription services. KPAX provides printer monitoring from 120 yen/device/month.
- Hardware Products: Sales of IC card readers (Elatec, HID), AIOB (All-In-One Box) pre-configured systems, and related peripherals.
- Printreleaf Environmental Offset: Printreleaf service sold based on print volume: 8,800 yen/year for up to 100,000 pages, with additional 4,400 yen per 100,000 page increment. Includes reforestation costs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Printreleaf environmental offset service |
| Subscription | Monthly | KPAX printer monitoring cloud service |
| Subscription | Annual | PaperCut Hive cloud-based print management |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | PaperCut MF/Plus on-premise |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels2 records
COSY product offering
Product offeringCore offering
COSY sells and integrates enterprise print management software (PaperCut MF/Plus/Hive), its proprietary multi-vendor printer fleet management platform (KPAX), OCR-based document processing automation (Umango), and a cloud-based reporting dashboard (COSY Smart Dashboard). The company also distributes authentication hardware including Elatec/HID/Cartadis IC card readers, fingerprint readers, and pre-configured PaperCut appliance boxes (AIOB). It additionally offers Printreleaf, a reforestation/carbon-offset service tied to paper consumption, and supports multi-vendor environments across 15+ printer manufacturers without vendor lock-in.
Product overview
COSY offers a portfolio of print management, document processing automation, and printer fleet management products, centered on PaperCut (MF, Plus, Hive), KPAX, and Umango. PaperCut products provide user authentication, print cost control, and print log collection across multi-manufacturer printer environments. KPAX complements PaperCut by monitoring printer device health, toner levels, and counters via SNMP. Umango automates document workflows by applying OCR to scanned papers and electronic files, extracting data, and routing files to cloud storage. Hardware products (Elatec/HID card readers, Cartadis cPad, Bio Buddy fingerprint reader, TCP-Conv3 network adapter) add IC card and biometric authentication to printers. COSY Smart Dashboard aggregates reporting across global printer fleets and integrates with Printreleaf for reforestation tracking. AIOB packages bundle hardware and software for simplified deployment scenarios.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- COSY Smart Dashboard: Cloud-based printer and multifunction device monitoring and reporting tool for tracking print counts, ink/toner levels, and maintenance information.
- KPAX
- Umango
- AIOB (All In One Box)
- COSY Print Job Monitor
- COSY Spool Cleaner
- Printreleaf
Products and services
- PaperCut MF
Quantifiable outcome
- 30% print cost reduction through print policy enforcement and authentication
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use COSY
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
COSY technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration13 records
AI capability6 records
Feature5 records
COSY partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor, core and major.
- Fujifilm Business InnovationflagshipUmango announced a global strategic partnership with Fujifilm Business Innovation for worldwide integration and distribution of the document processing solution.
- Allegion (Elatec Acquisition)minorAllegion acquired Elatec Group. COSY continues as the Japanese sales partner for Elatec IC card readers without interruption to supply.
- PrintreleafcoreCOSY has been a channel partner for Printreleaf since 2019, providing reforestation/paper offset solutions to Japanese universities and enterprises. COSY facilitated Japanese localization of the platform.
- Konica Minolta AmericamajorKonica Minolta America (through All Covered) distributes KPAX and PaperCut solutions in the US market. KPAX integrates with Konica Minolta's FORZA ERP system.
- Access Control Device, Inc. (ACDI)majorACDI is the exclusive US distributor for KPAX and PaperCut solutions, partnering with Konica Minolta for market expansion.
- PaperCutcoreCOSY is a major authorized reseller and integration partner for PaperCut MF, Plus, and Hive products in Japan. Deep technical partnership with 18+ years of collaboration.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
COSY competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Y Soft: Provider of YSoft SafeQ, a multi-vendor print management and secure print solution used in enterprises and education. Closest direct competitor to COSY's PaperCut-integrated offering in the managed print space.
- Pharos: Enterprise print management and secure print release software sold to large organizations and universities, with a similar multi-vendor positioning to COSY's portfolio.
- PrinterLogic (Vasion): Direct IP-based print management and printer fleet management vendor with strong education and enterprise penetration. Competes head-to-head with KPAX and PaperCut for multi-vendor print management deals.
- PaperCut Software: Maker of PaperCut MF, PaperCut Plus, and PaperCut Hive — the core products COSY resells and integrates in Japan. PaperCut's global direct sales and broader product roadmap directly compete with and shape COSY's go-to-market.
- Ringdale (FollowMe): Developer of FollowMe, a long-standing secure print and document management suite for enterprises — directly comparable in functionality to PaperCut MF and COSY's print authentication stack.
Emerging players
- ABBYY: OCR and intelligent document processing vendor. ABBYY's FineReader and FlexiCapture overlap with Umango's OCR/handwriting recognition and document classification capabilities.
Broad incumbents
- Konica Minolta: MFP OEM that integrates with KPAX (via FORZA ERP) while also offering its own Optimized Print Services. Functions as both a channel partner for COSY/KPAX and a competing print services provider.
- Kofax (Tungsten Automation): Broader intelligent document processing and workflow automation incumbent. Competes with Umango in capture, OCR, and routing of scanned documents, but as part of a much wider enterprise automation portfolio.
- Ricoh: Major MFP OEM with its own Ricoh Smart Integration and Streamline NX secure print offerings. Competes indirectly by bundling native print management, but also partners with multi-vendor vendors including COSY.
Others
- DocuWare: Cloud document management and workflow platform that sits adjacent to COSY's document processing/Umango line — overlapping at scan-to-archive and automated routing but not a print management substitute.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
COSY social profiles
Digital presenceCOSY financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
COSY leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
COSY funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
COSY M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about COSY
What does COSY do?
COSY sells and integrates enterprise print management software (PaperCut MF/Plus/Hive), its proprietary multi-vendor printer fleet management platform (KPAX), OCR-based document processing automation (Umango), and a cloud-based reporting dashboard (COSY Smart Dashboard). The company also distributes authentication hardware including Elatec/HID/Cartadis IC card readers, fingerprint readers, and pre-configured PaperCut appliance boxes (AIOB). It additionally offers Printreleaf, a reforestation/carbon-offset service tied to paper consumption, and supports multi-vendor environments across 15+ printer manufacturers without vendor lock-in.
Is COSY a public or private company?
COSY is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was COSY founded?
COSY was founded in 2006. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is COSY based?
COSY is headquartered in Ashiya, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does COSY make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses (PaperCut) is the primary driver. The others are cloud Services (SaaS), hardware Products and printreleaf Environmental Offset.
Who are COSY's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Y Soft, Pharos, PrinterLogic (Vasion), PaperCut Software and Ringdale (FollowMe). ABBYY is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Konica Minolta, Kofax (Tungsten Automation) and Ricoh. DocuWare is listed as an others.
Does COSY have an API?
Yes. KPAX provides a simple documented REST API that enables integration with third-party software such as ERP systems (e.g., Konica Minolta FORZA on SAP Business One, QR-Connect), CRM systems, billing/audit systems, and asset management systems. The API allows data exchange to create new services, automate processes such as meter billing and invoice generation, and send automated alerts. KPAX also offers a KQL (KPAX Query Language) feature for custom field calculations within the platform. Developer documentation is at kpax.cosy.co.jp/system-integration.
What industry is COSY in?
COSY's product category is Enterprise Print Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAIAM, Print & Peripheral Services (Managed Print, scanners, peripherals), with a secondary code of BPAEAIAF, Digital Experience Monitoring & Management (DEX/DEM, AIOps for EUC). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 2790.