How Xerography Revolutionized the Office and Changed the World

Xerography, also known as electrophotography, is a process of copying images by using electrostatic charges and dry toner. It was invented by Chester Carlson in 1938 and commercialized by the Xerox Corporation in the 1950s. Xerography revolutionized the office and changed the world by enabling fast, cheap, and reliable reproduction of documents, images, and texts.

Before xerography, the most common methods of copying documents were carbon paper, mimeograph, and photostat. These methods were either slow, messy, expensive, or low-quality. Carbon paper could only make one or two copies at a time, mimeograph required stencils and ink, and photostat used photographic film and chemicals. Xerography, on the other hand, could make multiple copies of any original document without any intermediate steps or consumables. It was also much faster, cleaner, and cheaper than the previous methods.

Xerography had a profound impact on various aspects of society, culture, and economy. It enabled the mass production and distribution of information, such as books, magazines, newspapers, flyers, posters, and reports. It facilitated the communication and collaboration of people across distances and organizations, such as businesses, governments, schools, and libraries. It also empowered the creativity and expression of individuals and groups, such as artists, writers, activists, and protesters. Xerography was a key factor in the development of the information age, the knowledge economy, and the digital revolution.

Xerography is still widely used today, although it has been improved and integrated with other technologies, such as laser printing, digital scanning, and network connectivity. Xerography remains one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, and one of the most influential innovations in the history of office and information technology. Get your copier machine today.