Over half a Millenia, some of the most intelligent minds have worked to advance printing technology. The printer you have in your home or office is the result of some incredible breakthroughs and expert engineering.
Early Printing
In 1440s Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press there were two options to reproduce literature or images:
Hire a Scribe : this expensive and time-consuming process involved a scribe reproducing and illustrating an entire book or document by hand.
Block Printing : This type of printing involved carving letters and images into the face of a block of wood, covering it with ink, and pressing it onto a medium such as paper.
Gutenberg’s Printing Press — As Gutenberg’s printing press proved to be a more efficient and less costly form of printing, the beginning of the modern era of printing had begun.
Xerograph, Xerography, and Xerox
It was on October 22, 1938. When the first xerograph image was made. It was Chester Carlson who developed this printing method and called it xerography. The name was inspire by Greek language dry (xero) and writing (graph). Xerography uses dry ink (toner) which by an electrically charged photoconductor-coated metal plate and flashes of light cause the dry ink to stick to a drum. The process was refine over the next 20 years before going to market. And the company he worked for at the time eventually changed its name to Xerox Corporation in 1961.
Laser Printer
In 1960s, Gary Starkweather combined laser technology with a xerographic copier. In 1981, Xerox released an office version of the laser printer known as the Xerox 9700 Laser Printer. It was Canon partner with Apple Computer and Hewlett-Packard in 1984 that released the HP LaserJet, a consumer version of the laser printer.
Also Read: Computer Vision Syndrome
Inkjet Printer
This was developed in 1950. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that inkjet printers could reproduce computer generated images. Johan Vaught, working for HP in Silicon Valley, helped the Hp team tasked to create an inkjet printer when a coffee percolator inspired him. Just as the water was heat to spread evenly over the coffee grounds, Vaught believe that by heating the ink. It could then be efficiently and uniformly applied to the desired medium.
3D Printer
It was in 1984 that Charles Hull invented the 3D printer. This technology used a vat photopolymerization technique called stereolithography. 3D printing produces what will be utilize without the need to remove excess material. Thus reducing discarded material and the energy needed to produce the product. The most popular form of 3D printing is that which adds layers of a selected material one on top of the other to create a three-dimensional figure. As time has passed, the applications of 3D printing have expanded to the medical field, construction, aviation, and even the food industry.