Who Invented the Photocopy Machine?
The photocopy machine is commonplace among nearly every business in North America, Europe and beyond. It allows a person to make quick and cost-effective copies of documents. Most modern copy machines use a concept known as xerography that fuses dry ink to paper. This invention was not developed overnight. It took a number of individuals and companies to perfect the concept for the modern office.
Concept
The base concept of how a photocopier works was established by Georgi Nadjakov in 1937. He discovered that nonconductive substances will permanently be fused to a material when it is polarized with an electric field and exposed to light.
Electrophotography
In 1938, Chester Carlson applied for a patent that used a concept known as electrophotography. He took a zinc plate covered with sulfur. When an image was placed under a bright light and electrified, it left a copy of the image.
Development
After trying to sell the idea to a number of companies, the Battelle Memorial Institute contracted Carlson to develop the process further. Carlson worked for a number of years before perfecting the base idea.
Xerox
The Haloid Corp. obtained the license for the photocopy machine in 1947. The name of electrophotography was changed to xerography. The company followed suit and changed its name to Xerox.
Commercialization
The Xerox Corp. released its first commercial copy machine in 1949. The machine was known as the Model A. A variety of other companies including RCA and Savin also began to produce the machines and the photocopy machine was born.
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