You’ve probably used a copier many times for school or office. Have you ever wondered how this innovative machine came to be?
It all started when Chester Carlson, a patent attorney, started looking for ways to make his job easier. He found his job painfully unbearable because of his arthritis. To think one man’s pain resulted in all this.
Here are a few more interesting facts you might want to know about the photocopier:
#1. We’re already making waves with color copiers. While many people fear the invention of color copying might increase the existence of counterfeit money, this isn’t a possibility. The makers of the modern color copier have equipped the machines with a feature that will recognize an embedded pattern. So the copier will leave small dots on the copy of the money, rendering it useless.
#2. Similarly, photocopies cannot be used to forge documents. Some people may want to use a color copier for forging a driver’s license. While it can copy most part of the license, a color copier will not be able to copy the embedded hologram in the driver’s license. Some college and university transcripts also have watermarks which will be highly visible in a copy of the document.
#3. Interestingly, some countries even put restrictions on copying copyright material. The United States allows this type of copying under its principle of fair use. In some other countries like Canada, however, there’s a law that makes royalty payments compulsory for copies made at university copy machines.
#4. While big companies like IBM and General Electric turned down Chester Carlson in the beginning, the machine turned out to be a huge success. In fact, the first copier demonstration was even aired on live T.V. This goes to show that you will eventually succeed despite your failures as long as you try and try again.
Did you know any of these facts before? It’s amazing how we often take some things for granted even though we couldn’t live without them. These aren’t the only facts about photocopiers and you can find out more in the photocopier infographic.
