PHILTECH INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY INC.

SUBJECT: HISTORY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

WEEK 7

LESSON 7: HISTORY, EVOLUTION AND TIMELINE OF COMPPUTER PRINTER

TOPICS: History, Evolution and Timeline of Computer Printer

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this session, you will be able to:
 Understand the revolution of printer
 Determine the different printer used from ancient time to present
 Understand the usability of different printer

For 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 and the Printing Press

Before Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press in the 1440s, there were two options to
reproduce literature or images:
1.Hire a Scribe - this expensive and time-consuming process involved a scribe reproducing and
illustrating an entire book or document by hand.
2.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.
Two drawbacks of this method were the blocks would wear out quickly, and the need for one
block per page. If a book being copied had 200 pages, 200 blocks were needed to reproduce it.

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

Gutenberg’s Printing Press

For nearly 500 years, the basics of printing technology remained the same. While the equipment
became more efficient and durable, the printing press was just that, a printing press.

The Xerograph, Xerography, and Xerox

Printer evolution finally took its next step towards modern times. 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.

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 drum then rolls over the paper, leaving
the ink and copied image behind.
The name was inspired by the Greek language dry (xero) plus writing (graph). The process was
refined 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.

The Laser Printer

As incredible as it may seem, laser printer technology preceded inkjet technology in the
consumer market. While working at a Xerox research center in the late 1960s, Gary
Starkweather combined laser technology with a xerographic copier.

By 1981, Xerox released an office version of the laser printer known as the Xerox 9700 Laser
Printer. However, it was Canon partnered with Apple Computer and Hewlett-Packard in 1984 that
released the HP LaserJet, a consumer version of the laser printer.

Features of Laser Printers

 Laser printers generate crisp, clear and repeated images on various materials ranging
from paper and cardboard to plastic and metal printing plates.
 A paper laser printer operates similarly to a copier in that light magnetizes specific areas
on a drum, attracting magnetic-colored toner.
 The toner is then transferred to the paper and fused with a scorching hot roller.
 The difference between a laser printer and a copier is that the copier uses a light to
reflect an image from an original to the drum surface. A laser printer uses a computer-
controlled laser to expose the drum in a series of very small, precisely positioned dots.
Once the drum is exposed it then picks up toner and transfers it to paper, then the
combination is fused.
Resolution
 Laser printer imaging paper can have various resolutions ranging from 300 laser dots per
inch (dpi) to up to 1200 dpi.
 The laser produces smaller and smaller dots for corresponding increases in the number of
dots per inch. Laser printer imaging paper rarely has resolutions exceeding 1200 dpi
because the physical properties of the toner cannot be reduced to smaller particles.
 As the resolution increases, so does the smoothness and clarity of the printed image.
Smaller and smaller dots arranged in curves and gradients result in less jagged edges and
more subtle changes in screens.
 The higher the resolution, the more shades of gray are available. Three hundred dpi laser
printers can produce 16 shades of gray, while 1200 dpi printers can produce 128.
Speed
 Laser-printer speed is rarely restricted by the mechanical ability to move the paper. Speed
is determined by the laser's ability to image the drum for repeated passes.
 Also, laser-printer speeds are affected by the computing power available to process and
translate the image for the laser. Laser printers have processors and random-access
memory (RAM), just like the computer used to produce the original file.
 Some laser printers have hard drives for storing data such as font files and other
necessary graphic files. All of these factors can affect the laser printer's speed, measured
in pages per minute. A relatively slow laser printer may run at 12 to 16 pages per minute.
 Faster laser printers can reach speeds of over 60 pages per minute. These machines are
used for high-end graphic production such as address mailers and advertising
supplements.
Color
 Color laser printers work identically to black-only laser printers with one exception.
 Instead of one drum and one toner, the printer has four: black, cyan (a light blue),
magenta (a pinkish red) and yellow. The four lasers image four drums, and the sheet of
paper passes each drum separately.
 Once all four toners are on the paper, it is fused.
 Color laser printers usually come in only 1200 dpi resolutions in order to produce accurate
color. Also, color laser printers run at relatively lower speeds because of the complexity of
aligning the paper for accurate color registration and multiple laser and toner operations.

The inkjet printer

 There isn’t a single inventor of inkjet printing. The history and creation of inkjet printing
are shared between Hewlett-Packard, Epson, and Cannon.
 While the concept was developed in the 1950s, it wasn’t until the late 1970s that inkjet
printers could reproduce computer generated images.

 Interestingly, a man by the name of John 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 heated to spread evenly over the coffee grounds, Vaught believed
that by heating the ink, it could then be efficiently and uniformly applied to the desired
medium.
  After decades of development, the inkjet printer finally appeared on the consumer market
in the late 1980s.
 The final obstacles that held inkjet back were creating a controlled flow of ink, and
preventing the print head from clogging with dry ink.
 Both Cannon and Hewlett-Packard overcame these obstacles, and the inkjet printer hit
the consumer market.

Advantages of Inkjet Printers

The unique inkjet technology has many advantages that have helped make these printers
extremely popular for many uses, and innovative technology has only helped to improve the
capabilities of inkjet printers.
Image quality
 Undoubtedly the main reason for investing in a good inkjet printer is the image quality.
 Inkjet technology enables extremely precise placing of ink dots with resolutions as high as
1440×1440 dots per inch (dpi).
 More dots per inch mean better and more accurate replication of the image with better
shading and color reproduction. This makes for extremely high-quality photos and
graphics with lifelike results.
Image color
 With better quality comes better color.
 Again, the use of ink and the technology behind the inkjet printer means they can
reproduce extremely bright and vivid colors with exceptional tone and shading.
 Many manufacturers continue to develop better ink and technology to improve inkjet
color.
Low initial cost
 Even if image quality isn’t at the top of your printer buying list, price probably is
 One of the main reasons inkjets have become so popular is their attractive purchase
prices.
Overall size
 When compared to a similar laser printer model, an inkjet printer is always the most
compact option.
 Even the more advanced inkjet printers offering A3 printing or all in one functionality are
surprisingly small.
Speed
 While not often associated with inkjet printers, they do have some surprising speed
advantages.
 While they make take longer to print than lasers, they usually have little to no warm-up
time and can receive and start printing documents extremely quickly.

The 3-D Printer

 It was in 1984 that Charles Hull invented the 3D printer. This technology used a vat photo
polymerization technique called stereo lithography.
 Known today in general terms as additive manufacturing, much of the attention it gets is
due to a lack of waste in the production process.
 3D printing produces what will be utilized 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.
3D Printer Features
SPEED
 Airwolf 3D AXIOM models operate at printing speeds of up to 250 millimeters per second,
and travel speeds as high as 400 millimeters per second.
 At Airwolf 3D we understand that time is critical, and this is why we have developed one of
the fastest desktop 3D printers on the market.

SIZE
Size limitation is currently a major drawback with most 3D printers on the market. Not at Airwolf
3D. With a huge build platform, the AXIOM series can print large models without having to print
in multiple pieces.

ACCURACY
With a 40 micron minimum layer height, and an X, Y resolution of 20 microns, the AXIOM series
printers are extremely accurate. Airwolf 3D has worked hard on balancing resolution and speed,
and has come up with a system that provides the best of both worlds..

What is 3D Printing?
 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid
objects from a digital file.
 The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive
process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object
is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of
the eventual object.
 3D printing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which is cutting out / hollowing
out a piece of metal or plastic with for instance a milling machine.
 3D printing enables you to produce complex shapes using less material than traditional
manufacturing methods.

How Does 3D Printing Work?

 It all starts with a 3D model.
 You create one yourself or download it from a 3D repository.
 When creating it yourself you can choose to use a 3D scanner, app, haptic device, code or
3D modeling software.

3D Modeling Software
 There are many different 3D modeling software tools available. Industrial grade software
can easily cost thousands a year per license, but there’s also open source software you
can get for free.
  For beginners, start with Tinkercad. Tinkercad is free and works in your browser, you don’t
have to install it on your computer. Tinkercad offers beginner lessons and has a built-in
feature to get your 3D model printed via a 3D print service.
 Now that you have a 3D model, the next step is to prepare the file for your 3D printer. This
is called slicing.

Slicing: From 3D Model to 3D Printer

 Slicing is dividing a 3D model into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers and is done
with slicing software.
 Some 3D printers have a built-in slicer and let you feed the raw .stl, .obj or even CAD file.
 When your file is sliced, it’s ready to be fed to your 3D printer. This can be done via USB,
SD or internet. Your sliced 3D model is now ready to be 3D printed layer by layer.

3D Printing Industry
 Adoption of 3D printing has reached critical mass as those who have yet to integrate
additive manufacturing somewhere in their supply chain are now part of an ever-shrinking
minority.
 Where 3D printing was only suitable for prototyping and one-off manufacturing in the early
stages, it is now rapidly transforming into a production technology.
 Most of the current demand for 3D printing is industrial in nature.
 As it evolves, 3D printing technology is destined to transform almost every major industry
and change the way we live, work, and play in the future.

Examples of 3D Printing
3D printing encompasses many forms of technologies and materials as 3D printing is being used
in almost all industries you could think of. It’s important to see it as a cluster of diverse industries
with a myriad of different applications.
A few examples:
 – consumer products (eyewear, footwear, design, furniture)
 – industrial products (manufacturing tools, prototypes, functional end-use parts)
 – dental products
 – prosthetics
 – architectural scale models & maquettes
 – reconstructing fossils
 – replicating ancient artefacts
 – reconstructing evidence in forensic pathology
 – movie props

The All in One Printer

 In the early ‘90s, printers evolved once more. The all in one printer that includes copying,
scanning, printing, and fax capabilities came to the market to eliminate the need for a
separate machine for each feature.
 Being smaller, these printers take up less space and prove their value by offering
convenience while reducing equipment cost and maintenance.

15 most important features to look for in an all-in-one printer

1.Print Speed

 A print speed of at least 10 color pages per minute and 20 black-and-white pages per
minute is a minimum standard to look for as a print speed specification.
 Waiting for something to print is not only frustrating, but also reduces your
productivity.

2.Printer Quality
Print quality is measured in dots per inch; black-and-white printers should have a minimum resolution of 600 x 600 dots
per inch. Black-and-white resolutions of 2400 x 1200 produce high-quality print productions. Color print quality of 1200 x
1200 is a good minimum standard, and a resolution of 4800 x 2400 produces excellent-quality color printouts.
3.Duty Cycle
A printer’s duty cycle is the maximum number of pages that should be printed per month.
Printers that are to be used in an office setting should have a high duty cycle in the 20,000 to
25,000-page range. A home printer with a monthly duty cycle of 5,000 pages is probably
sufficient for most users.
4.Laser vs. Inkjet
A laser printer generally produces higher-quality images than an inkjet printer, and laser printers
operate more efficiently than inkjet in terms of cost per page. Laser toner cartridges are more
expensive than inkjet cartridges, but they last significantly longer. Laser printers usually print
much faster than inkjet printers once the unit is heated up and operational.
5 Ink Replacement Costs
Consider the replacement cost of ink when buying an all-in-one printer; compare the yield that
can be expected from the ink or toner cartridge. By dividing the cost of the cartridge by the
expected yield, a cost-per-page estimate can be calculated. Do not forget to factor in the cost of
color cartridges as well.
Important Scanner Features
Scanner quality is also measured in dots per inch; having a scanner that produces high-quality
images is important if the scanner is going to be used for anything other than as a copy machine.
The following features are important when evaluating the scanner feature of an all-in-one printer.
 6.Scanner Resolution
A scanner that captures at a minimum resolution of 1200 x 600 is necessary for high-quality
reproductions, while a scanner resolution of 4800 x 4800 produces excellent-quality images.
7. Scanner Element Type
Many people are unaware that there are two different types of scanner elements. A charged
couple device (CCD) scanner is considered better for scanning graphic files. Color contact image
scanners (CIS) are thought to produce better text image scans.
8. OCR Scanner Software
All-in-one printers come with a software package that provides drivers for the different devices
included in the multifunction printer, as well as interface software that allows users to operate
the separate device functions. An important piece of scanner software is an OCR (optical
character recognition) tool; with OCR software, a page of text that is scanned can be converted
into a document that can be opened and edited with software such as Microsoft Word or other
word processing software.

9. Copy Speed
Once the scanner has created a reproduction of the image the user wants copied, the speed at
which copies of that image are produced is important. Just as with a slow printer, waiting for
multiple copies to be printed out can have an adverse effect on productivity. A copy speed of at
least 25 pages per minute is a good baseline for an all-in-one printer.
10. Copied Document Sizing
The ability to shrink or enlarge a copied image directly from the scanner table is a nice feature to
have in an all-in-one printer. Document resizing from 25 percent to 400 percent is a common
specification for most copier printers.
Fax Features for an All-in-One Printer
The fax machine features of an all-in-one printer are very important in a business machine. A
couple of very useful features make a multifunction fax component operate similarly to a stand-
alone fax machine.
11. Automatic Document Feeder
Manually placing each page of a fax document on a scanner platform one-at-a-time is not a very
efficient way to send a fax; a document feeder eliminates that problem, allowing you to place a
stack of papers to be faxed on the feeder tray. The automatic document feeder needs to be
matched with a suitable amount of fax memory.
12. Fax Page Memory
Fax page memory represents how many pages can be scanned and held in memory as the faxes
are being sent. These pages can represent multiple faxes to multiple numbers. Look for a
minimum fax memory of 100 pages.
13. Fax Page Speed
An all-in-one printer should have the capability to send a fax page in under 5 seconds.
General Features to Look For in an All-in-One Printer
There are some general features that buyers should look for when purchasing an all-in-one
printer, as having these extras can make important tasks easier. Most multifunction printers offer
USB connectivity to a PC, but users with a network or Wi-Fi availability can benefit from alternate
printer access methods.
14. Wi-Fi or Network Connectivity
A Wi-Fi-compatible all-in-one printer can be configured to operate securely in a home or business
network that has wireless capabilities. WPS setup is a common feature on most routers, and if a
user’s network has the WPS feature, buying a multifunction printer with WPS setup will make
configuring the printer easy. If wireless is not available, an all-in-one printer that has a built-in
network card can be wired to an available port on the network and eliminate the need to share
the printer from a network PC.
15. Memory Card Compatibility
If the memory card slot on the all-in-one printer is a function the user intends to take advantage
of, the user should make sure the card slot(s) are compatible with their memory card(s). Memory
slot specifications vary greatly, and some older-style memory cards may not work with newer
multifunction printer models.

The Wireless Printer

 In 1993, Andrew Clams invented the wireless printer.
 This printer connects to your device by Bluetooth or via Wi-Fi, permitting you to roam
freely with your device and allows several wireless devices to print at the same time.

How does a wireless printer work?

 A wireless printer uses a wireless network connection to print from different devices. This
allows users to send documents to the printer from computers, smartphones, and tablets
without having to connect them via cable or transfer files between devices beforehand.
 Wireless printers are also known as WiFi printers as they often use wireless networks to
receive communications. Other technologies used are Bluetooth, Personal Area Network
(PAN), Near-Field Communication (NFC) and Cloud.
 This makes printing quicker and easier, particularly for those with mobile devices. Users
can send documents instantly. For example, they could take a photograph on a
smartphone and print without having to connect devices.
How to print to a wireless printer
Wireless printer setup varies depending on the type of wireless printer you choose. Here some
general guidelines to print wirelessly:
1. Set up your printer’s network, for example WiFi or Bluetooth. You’ll need to know the
name of the network (SSID) and password. You may need to temporarily connect the
printer to a computer with an ethernet cable first for software installation.
2. Use the printer's display screen to connect to your chosen wireless network.
3. Ensure that the device you’re using is sharing the same network. For example, your
mobile device would need to be on the same WiFi connection as the printer.
4. When your document is ready to print, select print on your device and find the wireless
printer on the dropdown menu.
5. Select the printer and click print.

Advantages of Wi-Fi printer:

1. Lack of wires needed, except for power.
2. You can place the printer where you want to.
3. It gives you the ability to print directly from handheld devices such as tablets and phones.
Disadvantages of Wi-Fi printer:
1. They can reduce the speed of your wireless network.
2. Wi-Fi printers also open a new door to anyone accessing your network if your security is
lacking.
3. It is not uncommon for Wi-Fi printers to have problems with connection loss and drop outs.
4. Wi-Fi printers can have slow print times and print errors if the network is busy, if there is
interference in the network or if there is a low signal strength.
5. Setup can be very complicated.
6. When problems occur, they are harder to be located in Wi-Fi printers

QUIZ 1: True or False

Directions: Select TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if otherwise.

1. 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects

from a digital file.
2.It was on October 22, 1928 when the first xerograph image was made.
3.It was Gutenberg who developed this printing method and called it xerography.
4.Gary Starkweather combined laser technology with a xerographic copier.
5. By 1971, Xerox released an office version of the laser printer known as the Xerox 9700 Laser
Printer.
6.Laser printer imaging paper can have various resolutions ranging from 300 laser dots per inch
(dpi) to up to 1000 dpi.
7.The history and creation of inkjet printing are shared between Hewlett-Packard, Epson, and
Cannon.
8.After decades of development, the inkjet printer finally appeared on the consumer market in
the late 1980s.
9.Inkjet technology enables extremely precise placing of ink dots with resolutions as high as
1220×1220 dots per inch (dpi).
10.More dots per inch mean better and more accurate replication of the image with better
shading and color reproduction.
11.In the early ‘90s, printers evolved once more. The all in one printer that includes copying,
scanning, printing, and fax capabilities came to the market to eliminate the need for a separate
machine for each feature.
12. A printer’s duty cycle is the maximum number of pages that should be printed per
month.
13, Printers that are to be used in an office setting should have a high duty cycle in
5,000 page range.
14. A home printer with a monthly duty cycle of 20,000 pages is probably sufficient for most
users.
15. A laser printer generally produces higher-quality images than an inkjet printer, and laser
printers operate more efficiently than inkjet in terms of cost per page.

References:

https://writersdigestshop.com/pages/how-to-publish-a-book-an-overview-of-traditional-self-publishing

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-3-models-of-modern-pu_b_12119712

https://www.clashgraphics.com/printing-tips/history-timeline-evolution-computer-printers/

https://www.techwalla.com/articles/features-of-laser-printers

https://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/

http://www.inkman.org/15-features-look-one-printer/

https://www.xerox.com/en-mf/office/insights/wireless-printers