Invention of the Photocopier
A patent attorney called Chester Carlson invented a process called electro photography in October 1937 which was then renamed to Xerography in 1938. The “10-22-38 Astoria” was the first known photocopy. The Xerography copying processes become one of the most well known inventions of the 20th century. Carlson became wealthy from the invention and created a new billion dollar industry and received world acclaim. It is estimated that Carlson gave away almost $100 million of his earnings to charity and foundations before his death in 1968.
Development of Xerography
Ten years after Carlson’s Xerography invention, he found a company to take it on called The Haloid. The Haloid were a New York based photo-paper manufacturer and they later on became Xerox Corporation.
The First Office Copier
Who invented Xerox photocopiers? In 1955 Haloid Xerox produced the first automated xerographic machine called Copyflo. By 1958 the first true office copier was produced. Twenty two years after the electro photography, the first ever commercial push button photocopier machine called the 914 was introduced.
Good Times for Xerox
In three years, Haliod Xerox income increased from 2 million in 1960 to over 22 million by 1963, which became a phenomenal success.
In 1961 Haliod Xerox became Xerox and its stock was listed on the New York Stock exchange. The success grew from the 914 as Xerox introduced 24 new products after 20 years.
Changing Market
The Xerox domination later changed when new manufacturers changed what the world knew as a Xerox machine to a “photocopier” and it was a new beginning for the greatest marketing battle of the 20th century.
As early as 1955 Ricoh were emerging as a potential competitor for Xerox and developed the RiCopy 101 Diazo copier. In 1975 Ricoh had developed a prize winning copier called RiCopy DT 1200.
Brands such as Minolta, Panasonic, Toshiba, Canon, Konica and of course Sharp began to produce small office copiers, which became a big challenge in completion for Xerox’s domination in the business copier market.
Copiers Today
Today, Xerox continues to be one of the world’s leaders in the copier market along with Sharp and Konica Minolta. Recently, copier machines provide more than just copy. They can now print, fax, scan and even send out emails. This has become a great way to save money on office equipment and has also provided businesses with more office space, where before they would have had separate machines such as printers, fax machines and scanners.