First a little history....

In 1938, the first invention that would lead to the laser printer and toner cartridge was patented. The process, knows as "electro photography", used a dry printing method, not that different than today's laser printer. It was 1948, however, before the commercial application of electro photography because available.

In 1959, the first automatic reproduction machine, the Xerox 914, which used a dry printing process. In 1978, the fine tuned technology was applied to the computer printing needs of business and private citizens. Physically large and with a large price tag as well, the Xerox 9700 laser printer that used a toner cartridge wasn't affordable by individuals except the wealthy.

Everything changed in 1984 when Hewlett Packard began to market the "LaserJet" printer. This printer came with a replaceable toner cartridge that was not difficult to change, although it could sometimes bit a little messy. The really problematic part was that people who used the LaserJet had stacks of expensive but empty toners stacked in the storage room or wherever they could find to store the toner cartridges.

This problem was quickly resolved by environmentally aware designers by re-manufacturing the laser toner cartridge. This significantly reduced the cost of using laser printers.

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