There’s a large display on the lower level showing an exact replica of the first successful xerography set-up and the first xeroxed document (actually just a small slip of paper with a phone number on it). Pretty cool thing to see, worth checking out if you’re ever at the university (which is unlike for most who will read this I suppose).

Also though, the commencement address at my graduation was given by the CEO of Xerox. I wasn’t particularly impressed by her business attitudes, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the future has in store for the company (not just because of her, but from increasing competition, etc.)

On the other hand, I recently dismantled a tiny Japanese copier, and it contained thousands of tiny Japanese parts. Spread out, they covered my big living-room floor.

I am amazed by how big it is. All that for 8-1/2×11 copies?

I guess it doesn’t take up any more space than a scrivener (assuming he has a decent sized desk).

Here’s a video of their iGen catching fire at DRUPA in ’08:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iaqy5KF9eU

Because the testing they were doing was so expensive, they decided to have me on site every time from then on. Every couple months. Just to sit. Just in case.

I never imagined that Xerox had the same business model.

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Lp0_on_fire

Your headline just made my day :)

Fire happened when a sheet of paper wouldn’t feed correctly but would turn about and bunch against the exterior of the fuser. This was called a “mispuff.”

Early Xerography looks quaint today, but it was revolutionary at the time. It was so much better than the previous wet-process copy technology that it made business sense to have a machine that required a dedicated “key operator” and regular visits by service technicians.

I serviced Micrographics wide format printers that had such fusers in them. Some of the beasts are STILL in obscure locations used for recovering archived documents. Documents also were archived on an interesting media hybrid of a Hollerith card and Micrographics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture_card

And the printers for that media often would indeed burn a sheet of paper. Which often was roll feed with a paper cutter. Looked like someone took a POS printer’s rollfeed+cutter mech and scaled it up to 48 inches wide

Do recall that these machines were often barely equipped with any solid-state devices more complex than Darlington pairs driving relays/SCR switches. Mechanical switches and sequenced electromechanical relays with R-C delays often were used where we’d use ASIC’s today. And often the toner was a two component “Developer and Toner” blend with various schemes to keep the ratios anywhere near controlled. IIRC one issue with the fires was a machine that was “Throwing Developer” would be dumping a somewhat flammable metallic oxide powder+the combustible thermoplastic/carbon black toner onto the paper. Not quite Thermite by a long shot but not a trivial factor either.

Hell, I’m the guy who advocates our 3D printers having a “Smoke Operated Relay” in seried with their power supply! And maybe this whole conversation will convince the printerbot folks that my stories of such history are true:)