Everything has a story. Long or short, complex or simple, fascinating or lackluster—stories are all around us, and yet, somehow, we still manage to miss out on so many of them. Are we looking in the wrong places? Certainly we search between the covers of books, and though our literary appetites are appeased, we can't help but feel as though we're still missing something. Movies, songs, tales told around the fire—it's all the same. So where are the stories that are taking place around us, every day, coiling forward right before our eyes? What we're talking about is history: everything has a history, so everything has a story.
Printer History
Computer printers have a story just like everything else—but this story is by far one of the most important. Printers went through a lot to get where they are today. Learning more about the history of printers is a sure-fire way to ensure that more history is made. Sometimes, looking for the next futuristic innovation requires that we take a look at the past. Considering how much we rely on printers, and how highly every printing innovation is valued in today's business and home environments, pausing to reflect on printer history might just be a valuable detour.
The Printer's Story
So, what is the computer printer's story? How far have these incredible machines come in so little time? What can we learn from the history of the printer? Here's a quick look!
- 1983. While other printing machines may have been the prelude, Chester Carlson really wrote the first chapter of the computer printer's story. In 1983, he invented a dry printing process called "electrophotography," more commonly known as a Xerox. This was the starting point for all printing technology to come.
- 1971. In the heart of a cold November in 1971, nestled deep in the heart of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, the first laser printer was born. Gary Starkweather, a Xerox engineer, added a laser beam—something that manages to sound futuristic even four-and-a-half decades later—to a Xerox copier and created the laser printer.
- 1988. In a very short amount of time, the laser printer was joined by the inkjet printer—but it wasn't until 1988 that the inkjet printer became the household item that it is today. It was Hewlett-Packard's Deskjet model that really put printing in the hands of the individual—and since then, printing has become the crux of communication worldwide.
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