L'Echo du PCW (originally titled L'Echo du PCW 8256) was the reference monographic publication in France for users of Amstrad's line of word processors. Founded by Gilles Probst under the label of his company Logi'Stick, the magazine was born in July 1986 and maintained a steady trajectory until August 1990, completing a collection of 42 issues.

Unlike other mass-market commercial magazines, L'Echo du PCW was born with the spirit of a specialized technical newsletter. Its distribution evolved from small computer stores to reaching a solid subscriber base, with a circulation that ranged between 5,000 and 22,000 copies during its most successful stage.

TECHNICAL FOCUS AND CONTENTS

The magazine covered all iterations of the range (PCW 8256, 8512, and the sophisticated 9512), centering its editorial line on maximizing the hardware for professional and creative purposes:

• [#] Programming and Listings: It was famous for the large amount of source code it published monthly. Highlights included Mallard BASIC listings and advanced courses in languages such as C, Pascal, and Assembly (Z80), allowing users to develop their own tools under the CP/M operating system.
• [#] Hardware and Peripherals: It provided in-depth analysis and technical schematics on printer connections, memory expansions, and modem usage, keeping the French community up to date on hardware innovations developed both in France and the United Kingdom.
• [#] Productivity Software: It offered detailed guides on LocoScript management, spreadsheets, and databases, in addition to performing comparisons of commercial software that helped professionalize the use of the PCW in offices and homes.
• [#] Gilles Probst and Logi'Stick: The influence of its creator was vital, as the magazine not only informed but also served as a link for the commercialization of specific utilities developed by his own firm, creating a unique technical support ecosystem in France.

Beyond purely technical aspects, L’Écho du PCW reflected the evolution of the PCW ecosystem in France, with sections that helped readers get the most out of their machines, exploring both the practical use of applications and the development of their own software. The magazine earned a prominent place among the specialized publications of the time thanks to its exclusive focus on the PCW platform.

The collection of 42 issues is considered today a historical reference within the European computer press of the 80s, being one of the most complete publications dedicated to a single family of computers during its period of life on newsstands and among subscribers.

The disappearance of the magazine in 1990 coincided with the market transition towards the Amstrad PCW16 and the rise of PC compatibles, leaving behind an indispensable technical archive to understand the longevity of the PCW in the French country.