The IBM 1401 was also commonly used as an off-line peripheral controller in many installations of both large "Scientific Computer"s and large "Business Computer"s.
In these installations the big computer (e.g., an IBM 7090) did all of its input-output on magnetic tapes and the 1401 was used to format input data from other peripherals (e.g., the punch card reader in the IBM 1402 card reader/punch) on the tapes and transfer output data from the tapes to other peripherals (e.g., the punch card punch in the IBM 1402 card reader/punch or the IBM 1403 lineprinter).
During the IBM 1401s lifetime about 20,000 total systems were manufactured, making the IBM 1401 one of IBM's most successful products.
From the IBM Archives:
The monthly rental for a 1401 was $2,500 and up, depending on the configuration. By the end of 1961, the number of 1401s installed in the United States alone had reached 2,000 -- representing about one out every four electronic stored-program computers installed by all manufacturers at that time. The number of installed 1401s peaked at more than 10,000 in the mid-1960s, and the system was withdrawn from marketing in February 1971.
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