Printers have been a part of our lives for decades, so what better way to celebrate National Ink and Toner Day than by diving into a bit of that history? Read on to learn more about some of the most influential dates in printer history over the last 100 years. Don’t forget to take advantage of our exclusive National Ink and Toner Day coupon, available right here!
1904 – Ira Rubel invents offset lithography, a printing method in which the inked image on a printing plate is printed on a rubber cylinder and then transferred to paper1.
1938 – Chester Carlson invents electrophotography, or Xerox®, one of the founding technologies of laser printing2®.
1953 – Typewriter manufacturer Remington-Rand® invents the first high-speed printer for their UNIVAC computer3.
1969 – Xerox® begins producing the original laser printer called EARS at their research center in Palo Alto3.
1970s – Epson®, HP®, Canon® and others started developing inkjet printers4.
1980 – Epson® introduces the industry standard MX-80 dot matrix printer5.
1984 – HP® introduces the first LaserJet® laser printer6.
1988 – HP introduces the first DeskJet® inkjet printer7.
1990s – Remanufactured cartridges grow in popularity.
1992- Canon® introduces the CJ-10, the first desktop printer with scanning and fax capabilities8.
1996 – Epson® develops their first six-color photo printer, the Epson Stylus Color Photo9.
1999 – LD Products is established.
2003 – Wireless printers are introduced on a mass scale.
2009 – Z Corporation® introduces the first monochrome 3-D printer10.
2019 – LD Products celebrates its 20th anniversary.
1. “Encyclopedia Britannica” – Offset Printing.” Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/technology/offset-printing.
2. “Chester Carlson and Xerography.” – Xerox.com, https://www.xerox.com/en-us/innovation/chester-carlson-xerography.
3. “History of Computer Printers.” – thoughtco.com, https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-computer-printers-4071175.
4. “Printing History Timeline.” Visual.ly, https://visual.ly/community/infographic/history/printing-history-timeline.
5. “Sixty Years of Canon in the Americas.” Canon.com, https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/about/about-canon/canon-history/canon-history-1980.
6. “HP LaserJet Printer, 1984.” HP.com, http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/imagingprinting/0018/index.html.
7. “HP DeskJet Printer, 1988.” HP.com, http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/imagingprinting/0019/index.html.
8. “Sixty Years of Canon in the Americas.” Canon.com, https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/about/about-canon/canon-history/canon-history-1990.
9. “Company History.” Epson.com, https://epson.com/company-history.
10. “Z Corporation Introduces First Automated, Monochrome 3D Printer.” 3DSystems.com, https://www.3dsystems.com/press-releases/z-corporation-introduces-first-automated-monochrome-3d-printer.
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