Xerography

Xerography or electrophotography is a dry

photocopying technique. Its fundamental principle
was invented by Hungarian physicist Pál Selényi and 1
based on Selényi’s publications Chester Carlson applied
15 kV
for and was awarded U.S. Patent 2,297,691 on October
6, 1942. The technique was originally called electropho-
tography. It was later renamed xerography—from the
Greek roots ξηρός xeros, “dry” and -γραφία -graphia, photoconductor
“writing”—to emphasize that, unlike reproduction Cylindrical drum
techniques then in use such as cyanotype, this process Light
used no liquid chemicals.[1]
Carlson’s innovation combined electrostatic printing with 2
photography, unlike the dry electrostatic printing pro-
cess invented by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg in 1778.[2]
Carlson’s original process was cumbersome, requiring
several manual processing steps with flat plates. It was
almost 18 years before a fully automated process was de-
veloped, the key breakthrough being use of a cylindrical
Toner
drum coated with selenium instead of a flat plate. This re-
sulted in the first commercial automatic copier, the Xerox
914, being released by Haloid/Xerox in 1960. Before
3
that year, Carlson had proposed his idea to more than a
dozen companies, but none were interested. Xerography
is now used in most photocopying machines and in laser
and LED printers.
Paper

1 Xerographic process 4
The first commercial use was hand processing of a flat
photosensor (an electronic component that detects the
presence of visible light) with a copy camera and a sepa-
rate processing unit to produce offset lithographic plates.
Today this technology is used in photocopy machines, Schematic overview of the xerographic photocopying process
laser printers, and digital presses which are slowly replac-
ing many traditional offset presses in the printing industry
for shorter runs.
the copiers originally developed by Xerox Corporation
By using a cylinder to carry the photosensor, auto- were manufactured with a surface coating of amorphous
matic processing was enabled. In 1960, the automatic selenium (more recently ceramic or organic photocon-
photocopier was created and many millions have been ductor or OPC), applied by vacuum deposition. Amor-
built since. The same process is used in microform print- phous selenium will hold an electrostatic charge in dark-
ers and computer output laser or LED printers. A metal ness and will conduct away such a charge under light.
cylinder called the drum is mounted to rotate about a hor- In the 1970s, IBM Corporation sought to avoid Xerox’s
izontal axis. The drum rotates at the speed of paper out- patents for selenium drums by developing organic pho-
put. One revolution passes the drum surface through the toconductors as an alternative to the selenium drum. In
steps described below. the original system, photocopiers that rely on silicon or
The end-to-end dimension is the width of print to be selenium (and its alloys) are charged positively in use
produced plus a generous tolerance. The drums in (hence work with negatively-charged “toner” powder).

1
2 1 XEROGRAPHIC PROCESS

Photoconductors using organic compounds (like zinc ox- Whether in a scanning or a stationary optical system,
ide or cadmium sulfide) are electrochemically charged combinations of lenses and mirrors are used to project the
vice-versa to the preceding system in order to exploit their original image on the platen (scanning surface) onto the
native properties in printing.[3] Organic photoconductors photoconductor. Additional lenses, with different focal
are now preferred because they can be deposited on a flex- lengths or zooming lenses are utilized to enlarge or reduce
ible, oval or triangular, belt instead of a round drum, fa- the image. The scanning system, though, must change its
cilitating significantly smaller device build size. scanner speed to adapt to elements or reductions.[3]
Laser printer photo drums are made with a doped silicon A drum is inferior to a belt in the sense that although it is
diode sandwich structure with a hydrogen-doped silicon simpler than a belt, it must be buffered gradually in parts
light-chargeable layer, a boron nitride rectifying (diode- rolling on the drum. As a result, the belt is more efficient
causing) layer that minimizes current leakage, and a sur- to use one exposure to make a direct passage.[3]
face layer of silicon doped with oxygen or nitrogen; sili-In a laser or LED printer, modulated light is projected
con nitride is a scuff-resistant material. onto the drum surface to create the latent image. The
The steps of the process are described below as applied modulated light is used only to create the positive image,
on a cylinder, as in a photocopier. Some variants are de- hence the term “blackwriting”.
scribed within the text. Every step of the process has
design variants. The physics of the xerographic process Step 3. Development
are discussed at length in a book.[4]
In high-volume copiers, the drum is presented with a
Step 1. Charging slowly turbulent mixture of toner particles and larger,
iron, reusable carrier particles. Toner is a powder; its
An electrostatic charge of −600 volts is uniformly dis- early form was carbon powder, then melt-mixed with a
tributed over the surface of the drum by a corona dis- polymer. The carrier particles have a coating which, dur-
charge from a corona unit (Corotron), with output lim- ing agitation, generates a triboelectric charge (a form of
ited by a control grid or screen. This effect can also be static electricity), which attracts a coating of toner par-
achieved with the use of a contact roller with a charge ticles. In addition, the mix is manipulated with a mag-
applied to it. Essentially, a corona discharge is generated netic roller to present to the surface of the drum or belt
by a narrow wire 1 ⁄4 to 1 ⁄2 inch (6.35 to 12.7 mm) apart a brush of toner. By contact with the carrier each neutral
from the photoconductor. A negative charge is placed on toner particle has an electric charge of polarity opposite
the wire, which will ionize the space between the wire to the charge of the latent image on the drum. The charge
and conductor, so electrons will be repelled and pushed attracts toner to form a visible image on the drum. To
away onto the conductor. The conductor is set on top of control the amount of toner transferred, a bias voltage is
a conducting surface, kept at ground potential.[5] applied to the developer roller to counteract the attraction
between toner and latent image.
The polarity is chosen to suit the positive or negative pro-
cess. Positive process is used for producing black on Where a negative image is required, as when printing
white copies. Negative process is used for producing from a microform negative, then the toner has the same
black on white from negative originals (mainly microfilm) polarity as the corona in step 1. Electrostatic lines of
and all digital printing and copying. This is to economize force drive the toner particles away from the latent image
on the use of laser light by the “blackwriting” or “write to towards the uncharged area, which is the area exposed
black” exposure method. from the negative.
Early color copiers and printers used multiple copy cy-
Step 2. Exposure cles for each page output, using colored filters and ton-
ers. Modern units use only a single scan to four separate,
miniature process units, operating simultaneously, each
The document or microform to be copied is illuminated
with its own coronas, drum and developer unit.
by flash lamps on the platen and either passed over a lens
or is scanned by a moving light and lens, such that its
image is projected onto and synchronized with the mov- Step 4. Transfer
ing drum surface. Alternatively, the image may be ex-
posed using a xenon strobe, onto the surface of the mov- Paper is passed between the drum and the transfer corona,
ing drum or belt, fast enough to render a perfect latent which has a polarity that is the opposite of the charge on
image. Where there is text or image on the document, the the toner. The toner image is transferred from the drum
corresponding area of the drum will remain unlit. Where to the paper by a combination of pressure and electrostatic
there is no image the drum will be illuminated and the attraction. On many color and high-speed machines, it is
charge will be dissipated. The charge that remains on the common to replace the transfer corona with one or more
drum after this exposure is a 'latent' image and is a nega- charged bias transfer rollers, which apply greater pressure
tive of the original document.[5] and produce a higher quality image.
 3

Step 5. Separation or detack A mnemonic sentence that is helpful to remember the

steps sequence in the xerographic process is: Can I Eric
Electric charges on the paper are partially neutralized by Do The Funky Chicken Dance? (Charging, Imaging, Ex-
AC from a second corona, usually constructed in tandem posing, Developing, Transferring, Fusing, Cleaning and
with the transfer corona and immediately after it. As a Discharging)..
result, the paper, complete with most (but not all) of the
toner image, is separated from the drum or belt surface.
2 Durability
Step 6. Fixing or fusing
Xerographic documents (and the closely related laser
The toner image is permanently fixed to the paper us- printer printouts) can have excellent archival durability,
ing either a heat and pressure mechanism (hot roll fuser) depending on the quality of the paper used. If low-quality
or a radiant fusing technology (oven fuser) to melt and paper is used, it can yellow and degrade due to residual
bond the toner particles into the medium (usually paper) acid in the untreated pulp; in the worst case, old copies
being printed. There also used to be available “offline” can literally crumble into small particles when handled.
vapor fusers. These were trays covered in cotton gauze High-quality xerographic copies on acid-free paper can
sprinkled with a volatile liquid, such as ether. When the last as long as typewritten or handwritten documents on
transferred image was brought into proximity with the va- the same paper. However, xerographic copies are vul-
por from the evaporating liquid, the result was a perfectly nerable to undesirable toner transfer if they are stored in
fixed copy without any of the distortion or toner migration direct contact or close proximity to plasticizers, which are
which can occur with the other methods. This method is present in looseleaf binders made with PVC. In extreme
no longer used due to emissions of fumes. cases, the ink toner will stick directly to the binder cover,
pulling away from the paper copy and rendering it illegi-
Step 7. Cleaning ble.

The drum, having already been partially discharged dur-

ing detack, is further discharged by light. Any remain- 3 Uses in animation
ing toner, that did not transfer in step 6, is removed from
the drum surface by a rotating brush under suction, or Ub Iwerks adapted xerography to eliminate the hand-
a squeegee known as the cleaning blade. This 'waste' inking stage in the animation process by printing the an-
toner usually is routed into a waste toner compartment for imator’s drawings directly to the cels. The first animated
later disposal; however, in some systems, it is routed back feature film to use this process was One Hundred and One
into the developer unit for reuse. This process, known as Dalmatians (1961), although the technique was already
toner reclaim, is much more economical, but can possi- tested in Sleeping Beauty (for the animation of the rocks
bly lead to a reduced overall toner efficiency through a falling and turning into bubbles), released two years ear-
process known as 'toner polluting' whereby concentration lier. At first, only black lines were possible, but in the
levels of toner/developer having poor electrostatic prop- 1980s, colored lines were introduced and used in ani-
erties are permitted to build up in the developer unit, re- mated features like The Secret of NIMH.
ducing the overall efficiency of the toner in the system.
Some systems have abandoned the separate developer
(carrier). These systems, known as monocomponent, op- 3.1 Examples of feature films using the xe-
erate as above, but use either a magnetic toner or fusible rography process
developer. There is no need to replace worn-out de-
veloper, as the user effectively replaces it along with • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
the toner. An alternative developing system, developed
• The Sword in the Stone (1963)
by KIP from an abandoned line of research by Xerox,
completely replaces magnetic toner manipulation and the • Mary Poppins (1964)
cleaning system, with a series of computer-controlled,
varying biases. The toner is printed directly onto the • The Jungle Book (1967)
drum, by direct contact with a rubber developing roller
which, by reversing the bias, removes all the unwanted • The Aristocats (1970)
toner and returns it to the developer unit for reuse. • Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
The development of xerography has led to new technolo-
gies that has the potential to eventually eradicate tradi- • Robin Hood (1973)
tional offset printing machines. These new machines that • The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976)
print in full CMYK color, such as Xeikon, use xerography
but provide nearly the quality of traditional ink prints. • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
4 5 EXTERNAL LINKS

• The Rescuers (1977)

• Pete’s Dragon (1977)
• The Ballade of the Daltons (1978)
• The Fox and the Hound (1981)
• The Secret of NIMH (1982)
• The Black Cauldron (1985)
• The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
• An American Tail (1986)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
• The Land Before Time (1988)
• Oliver & Company (1988)
• The Little Mermaid (1989)
• All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

4 References
[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
xerography
[2] Schiffer, Michael B.; Hollenback, Kacy L.; Bell, Carrie
L. (2003). Draw the Lightning Down: Benjamin Franklin
and Electrical Technology in the Age of Enlightenment.
Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 242–44.
ISBN 0-520-23802-8.
[3] “Photocopying processes”. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of
Science and Technology vol. 13, p. 395, 10th edition,
2007
[4] The Physics and Technology of Xerographic Processes,
Edgar M. Williams, John Wiley and Sons (Wiley-
Interscience), New York, 1984.
[5] Photocopying processes”. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of
Science and Technology vol. 13, p. 394, 10th edition,
2007

• Owen, David (2004). Copies in Seconds: How

a Lone Inventor and an Unknown Company Cre-
ated the Biggest Communication Breakthrough Since
Gutenberg. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN
0-7432-5117-2.
• Schein, L. B. (1988). Electrophotography and De-
velopment Physics. Springer Series in Electrophysics
14. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

5 External links
• “Static Pops Pictures On Paper” detailed 1949
Popular Science article on the history and technol-
ogy of xerography
 5

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1 Text
• Xerography Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerography?oldid=693452146 Contributors: Dreamyshade, Christian List, Catherine-
Munro, David Latapie, Optim, Scott Sanchez, Owen, Donreed, Altenmann, DocWatson42, Edcolins, Neutrality, Muijz, Maikel, Stepp-
Wulf, Mammique, PlasmaDragon, El C, Mwanner, Bobo192, Dsm, Ahruman, Lee S. Svoboda, Wtshymanski, Shoefly, Qstorm11, Hailey
C. Shannon, Rjwilmsi, Overand, YurikBot, DMahalko, Bovineone, Oni Lukos, Yrithinnd, Annabel, Janke, Gadget850, Reg nim, Finell,
SmackBot, Marc Lacoste, Pzavon, Hmains, Chris the speller, Octahedron80, Gruzd, Cybercobra, Danjewell, Henning Makholm, DJIndica,
QDE-can, Special-T, Aeons, Esn, Chetvorno, SaintCahier, Amazinrick, Efindel, RichJTD, Tocharianne, Ghaberek, TuvicBot, JAnDbot,
Dorotheou, Ysae, Magioladitis, Appraiser, Pdburns, Nposs, PoliticalJunkie, Racepacket, ATR~enwiki, Uncle Dick, Dispenser, Adam
Malone, Jamelan, MCTales, Harlandbrown, Brenont, Calliopejen1, Parhamr, The Thing That Should Not Be, EoGuy, Mild Bill Hiccup,
Trivialist, LarryMorseDCOhio, Yonskii, Versus22, Kruusamägi, Kintaro, Ost316, Addbot, Nuvitauy07, Loupeter, SwisterTwister, Killion-
dude, Materialscientist, LilHelpa, Action ben, Omnipaedista, Stratocracy, Hyju, UKmender, Dinamik-bot, Jackehammond, Tommy2010,
Wingman4l7, Іванко1, Saeedbf, ClueBot NG, Delusion23, Reify-tech, Doorknob747, CitationCleanerBot, Maurivee, MiloMatt, Hallvard
Indgjerd, Melenc, APerson, Kleeblatt187, Sweepy, StarHorder and Anonymous: 93

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