The History of the Photocopier

Often hated in the office, but no office can do without one.

A photocopier is a machine which reproduces copies of documents or illustrations. 

An American named G.C. Beidler patented a copying machine in 1906, based on a dry-plate camera. However, its popularity remained limited.

In 1938 Chester Carlson decided to attempt to create a photocopier which used the principle of static electricity. His first version, launched in the late 1940s, it was too slow to be useful. Finally, in 1959, he was able to market the first Xerox machine, which had an output of seven copies per minute. The mass appeal of the photocopier gradually began to build from this point. Today photocopiers and their similar cousins laser printers are that affordable many small home business's have one. Today's machines use the same basic principals of static electricity created by Chester Carlson.