COSY

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.

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

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

• Print management software
• Printer fleet management
• Document workflow automation
• OCR software solutions
• Managed print services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ashiya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. Cloud Services (SaaS): COSY Smart Dashboard, KPAX, and PaperCut Hive are cloud-based subscription services. KPAX provides printer monitoring from 120 yen/device/month.
3. Hardware Products: Sales of IC card readers (Elatec, HID), AIOB (All-In-One Box) pre-configured systems, and related peripherals.
4. 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

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core 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

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor, core and major.

• Fujifilm Business InnovationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 August 2025Umango announced a global strategic partnership with Fujifilm Business Innovation for worldwide integration and distribution of the document processing solution.
• Allegion (Elatec Acquisition)minorOthers · 12 June 2025Allegion acquired Elatec Group. COSY continues as the Japanese sales partner for Elatec IC card readers without interruption to supply.
• PrintreleafcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019COSY 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 AmericamajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKonica 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)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorACDI is the exclusive US distributor for KPAX and PaperCut solutions, partnering with Konica Minolta for market expansion.
• PaperCutcoreTechnology or IntegrationCOSY 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/cosy200

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COSY