Milestones:Development of the Commercial Laser Printer, 1971-1977
- Date Dedicated
- 2024/05/17
- Dedication #
- 251
- Location
- Palo Alto, CA
- IEEE Regions
- 6
- IEEE sections
- Santa Clara Valley
- Achievement date range
- 1971-1977
Title
Development of the Commercial Laser Printer, 1971-1977
Citation
Xerox PARC researchers demonstrated the feasibility of laser printing on a one-page-per-second Xerox copier in 1971, and with computer-generated images in 1972. As the networked printer in 1974, it transformed office automation and led to desktop publishing at PARC. The Xerox 9700 printer proved commercial viability in 1977, and helped launch the non-impact printer industry into a new era of printed communication for print shops, home, and office.
Street address(es) and GPS coordinates of the Milestone Plaque Sites
- Site 1: PARC (part of SRI International), 3333 Coyote Hill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304 US (37.402370, -122.148354)
- Site 2: Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94043 US (37.414757, -122.077679)
Details of the physical location of the plaque
- Site 1: On the back wall of The Innovation Museum, which is to the left of the front reception desk, and alongside 2 other IEEE Milestone plaques (Xerox Alto and Ethernet)
- Site 2: On the inside face of the front patio brick wall, near the museum's Main Entrance
How the plaque site is protected/secured
- Site 1: Building security; 8am-4:30pm access on weekdays
- Site 2: Building security; 24/7 access
Historical significance of the work
From Gary Starkweather’s induction into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2012: "While working for Xerox in Webster, New York, Gary Starkweather began work on an idea for a laser printer, a machine that could print any image created by a computer. Computer printers did exist at the time but were large, awkward, mechanical machines that had many limitations. After creating a crude prototype, Starkweather transferred to Xerox PARC in 1971 to continue developing his idea. At PARC, Starkweather created SLOT, his "scanning laser output terminal," using a Xerox 7000 copier as his base. A laser beam carried digital information, and the copier then developed the imaged digital information to make a print. In 1977, Xerox launched the 9700 laser printer which would become one of Xerox's best-selling products. In fact, the original laser printer made billions of dollars for Xerox, the most commercially profitable product to come out of the PARC facility."
A 2020 Wall Street Journal story discusses how Starkweather's laser printer spawned a $2 billion/year business. A 2020 Los Angeles Times obituary notes that "He originally received pushback from his employer, Xerox. But his invention eventually became nearly ubiquitous in every office and home." The social significance of this invention was that it allowed anyone to readily print computer files including graphics, which enhanced social communications. A more detailed summary of the significance of this accomplishment is provided in this document. The story of the design of the laser printer is provided in the Dealers of Lightning book and in the Starkweather Oral History. Five key Starkweather patents are included below.
Obstacles (technical, political, geographic) that needed to be overcome
Prior to the laser printer, printing reproduced a fixed page image (copier technology) or generated a slow character-at-a-time output from computer data. The major obstacle was to find a means of generating computer data at copier printing speeds and to develop an optical system that could place the image into the copier. At the time, copier speeds greatly exceeded computer data processing speeds, and a computer driven optical system was not yet developed. The goal was to provide printing capabilities for computers to complement the development of the higher-power individual computer workstations that were being developed. Work was ongoing at PARC during this era.
Features that set this work apart from similar achievements
This invention commenced the era of high-speed single-page commercial printers, introducing this printing concept into both the commercial and consumer markets. Previous direct-contact line printers limited the quality and speed of computer reproduced images, which were being printed onto large spool-fed continuous-sheet paper stock. Invention of non-contact single-sheet laser printing led to the wide scale commercial adoption of computer based printing of higher quality custom images onto cut sheet paper. This concept of readily printing custom computer images onto cut sheet paper would eventually inspire development of other consumer market printers that came to fruition through the creation and application of different technologies.
Significant references
Supporting materials
- Media:A Decade of Reseach at Xerox PARC 1970-1980.pdf
- Media:Excerp from Gadwell via Thompson.pdf
- Media:Gary Starkweather - NYTimes.pdf
- Media:Laser Printer illustrations.pdf
- Media:Reilly, Edwin Milestones in Computer Science.pdf
- Starkweather, Birth of the Laser Printer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZFaQiItckU
- Starkweather, Invited Talk Univ. of S. Florida, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiLDiWh6iBY
Dedication Ceremony
A Celebration of 50 Years of the Internet
- Blog with Photos from "50 Years of the Internet" Event
- Eileen Clegg's Internet Evolution Tapestry as discussed by her and Vint Cerf
Martin Wasserman Interviews re: the 50th Anniversary of the Internet
- Internet Pioneer Vint Cerf
- Internet Historian Marc Weber
- IEEE History Committee Vice Chair Brian Berg
