The Evolution of Printers

Invention of The Printing Press

Jan 1, 1439

SourceThe printing press is considered the most revolutionary invention in the history of the printing industry. It was invented by a goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg in Germany. The printing press was made from an alloy made up of tin, lead, and antimony. The alloy melted at high temperatures and made it possible for separate type pieces to be used and reused. Gutenberg carved the mirror images of individual letters on a small block, so they could be moved easily and arranged to form words.

The Movable Type Printing Press

Mar 4, 1550

SourceThe standard process involved a hard metal punch with letters engraved back to front that was hammered into a softer copper bar, creating a matrix. It is placed into a mold and filled with molten-type metal. The resulting peice of type is then removed from the mold. The immediate effect of the printing press was multiplication of the output and reduced the costs of books. The German masters were the first to acquire the movable type printing press.

The Steam Press

Mar 19, 1814

SourceThis is the first automatic printing press that was constructed, and it greatly increased the efficiency at which newspapers and books were printed. It was invented by the German printer Friedrich Koenig with assistance from Andreas Friedrich Bauer. This press was powered by steam and replaced the printing flatbed with the rotary motion of cylinders. The steam press was sold to The Times, a newspaper company in London.

The Rotary Printing Press

May 13, 1847

SourceRotary drum printing press was invented by Richard March Hoe. It is a printing press in which the impressions are curved around a cylinder so that the printing can be done on long continuous rolls of paper, cardboard, plastic, or a large number of other substrates. It had greatly increased the speed of the printing process. Hoe patented the rotary press and was first commercially used in the offices of the Philadelphia Public Ledger.

Xerox Printing

Oct 22, 1938

SourceChester Carlson invented a dry printing process called electrophotography commonly called a Xerox. It was a way of transmitting and printing facsimilies of printed images using a beam of directed ions directed onto a rotating drum of insulating material. It was commercialized by the Xerox Corporation. Xerox printing became widely used to produce high-quality text and graphic images on paper.

The Xerox 9700

Jun 16, 1977

SourceThe Xerox 9700 Electronic Printing System was the first xerographic laser printer product. It was the first product on the market to be enabled by PARC research. It operated at 2 pages per second with faster font selection and forms capabilities. Also, the Xerox 9700 was intended for high volume applications.

The HP Laser Jet

Mar 1, 1984

SourceThe HP LaserJet was the first desktop laser printer available to the market. Also, it boasts a 300 dpi output for a commercially oriented device. HP worked with Canon on laser printer technology to introduce the first LaserJet. The Laserjet was revolutionary in bringing laser printing to the desktop.

The HP Deskjet 500

Apr 22, 1988

SourceThe HP DeskJet 500 was the first mass-market inkjet printer. The DeskJet offered continuous plain-paper printing and higher print quality than its inkjet predecessors. The Deskjet was reloutionaly in being light, smaller and more afforable.