The Amazing World of Photocopiers
A photocopier is a machine that makes paper copies of different things, ranging from documents to visual images and is usually referred to as copier or copy machine.
Its advantage is that the whole process is quick and cheap.
Most nowadays photocopiers use a technology called xerography, which uses heat to print. Other technology being used at present are ink jets, although xerography is the standard for office copying.
Photocopying is useful for a lot of things, such as education, business and even for government-related stuff.
However, despite their advantage, many experts have foreseen that photocopiers will ultimately become obsolete, as digital information seems the logical way to go.
The first ever used photocopier was invented by J. Watt in the late 18th century. The system was such a success, that it quickly became used around the country.
In 1949, the xerography was invented by Xerox Corporation, who introduced the first such photocopier, referred to as “Model A”.
It was such an incredible success, that in North America, and later all over the globe, the process of photocopying was named popularly “Xeroxing”.
Colored toner were not available until the 1950s, and the first electrostatic color copier was released in 1973 by Canon.
Color copying was and still is a concern to the government, as it facilitates counterfeiting currency. Furthermore, although some countries have included anti-counterfeiting technologies, some photocopying machines could easily trick the naked eye.
Copyright has been an issue too, as it is a common practice to just borrow the book from a friend and make a few photocopies rather then having to buy all the book for just an article or two. Thus, the principle of fair use was introduced in the US, that allows prints for research purposes.
The above information is more than enough as an introduction in the amazing world of photocopiers.
