Printing Then and Now: Part VI (The Technological Era)

The 20^th century brought a lot of innovations in the print industry. As technology improved, things have become better, quicker, and cheaper. Books, newspapers, and other color prints have become more accessible as they increase in number. The techniques developed in the 19^th century continued on to the 20^th century. But it wasn’t until 1960 when computer technology was introduced that notable innovations occurred.

The first laser printer was developed by Xerox in 1969, but it wasn’t until 1975 that the first commercial laser printer IBM model 1800 was introduced. This model was designed for commercial mass production. In 1981, the Xerox Star was released and designed for business use. In 1984, HP released the Laserjet 8ppm. Since then, several laser printers were introduced and have become much smaller and faster. As a result, costs have become much lower.








Xerox Star 8010

The dot matrix printer first made its appearance in 1970. This printer works by running backward and forward or up and down. The imprint is created by striking the ink soaked ribbon against the paper. It is a cost-effective type of printer that was popular for home use until the 1990s when it was replaced by inkjet printers.

The inkjet printer was first produced in 1970 but only became commercially available in 1988. Major manufacturers of the inkjet printer are Epson, HP, Canon, and Lexmark. The ability of inkjet printers to replicate high quality color images made them the printer of choice in the 21^st century.

Canon PIXMA iP2702 A4 Colour Inkjet Printer

The technological revolution brought about new printing technologies. What used to take days and even months to print can now be completed in just minutes. The changes have been remarkable helping companies and individuals to produce colored print jobs in the quickest and most affordable way.