Surprising Origins: The Invention Journey of Inkjet Printers
The creation of Inkjet printers was an accidental discovery by a Canon engineer, Ichiro Endo in 1951.
During the mid-twentieth century, marked by rapid technological advancements and groundbreaking inventions, an unintentional journey began that eventually led to the creation of a device pivotal in both offices and homes worldwide: the inkjet printer. This fascinating story starts with a Canon engineer named Ichiro Endo, born in 1951.
The Accidental Discovery
Endo’s initial project was far removed from printing technology. He was tasked with developing a reliable automatic stopwatch for the Tokyo Olympics. However, while working on this project, he made an unexpected observation that would change his career trajectory. The heat from his soldering iron caused ink droplets to shoot out from a nearby fountain pen’s reservoir. This phenomenon piqued Endo’s curiosity and shifted his focus from stopwatches to printers.
Experimentation and Development
Intrigued by what he had observed, Endo began experimenting to understand the temperature that caused vapor bubbles leading to ejected ink droplets. Through extensive experimentation, he discovered that precisely controlling the energy input into the ink reservoir could regulate the size of each bubble and, consequently, each subsequent mark on parchment.
The Invention of Bubble Jet Printing
Endo’s eureka moment not only led to the invention of inkjet printing but also paved the way for another closely related process, bubble jet printing. Both methods rely on similar principles but have distinct operational differences.
Commercial Viability: Drop-on-Demand Technology
The inkjet and bubble jet printing breakthroughs came in 1978-79 when Canon introduced ‘Drop on Demand’ technology. This innovation made both systems viable for commercial applications, revolutionizing document printing.
Global Impact
Today, inkjet and bubble jet printing methods are ubiquitous worldwide. They serve our everyday printing needs and testify to how accidental discoveries can lead to transformative solutions when approached with curiosity and scientific rigor.
In summary, Ichiro Endo’s serendipitous observation during an unrelated project led to one of the most significant technological advancements in modern history—the development of inkjet printing technology—demonstrating once again how innovation often springs from unexpected places.