Following the Short Revisionist History, I got really interested in the bigger picture, how this technology developed and where it came from. A huge shoutout to Luminous Landscape on helping with much info to put this timeline together… thanks to all!
I figure this is a work in progress, check back for updates!
| Year | Device/Company | Comments |
| 1970s: On-Demand (DoD) Technology: Pressure generated by voltage pulse applied to piezo element | ||
| 1976 | Inkjet technology developed | IBM 4640 ink-jet printer introduced as a word processing hardcopy-output peripheral application. |
| 1977 | Seimens PT-80 uses drop-on-demand inkjet technology | |
| 1978 | Piezoelectric inkjet printer | (citation needed) |
| 1979 | Canon invents bubble-jet (BJ) technology | Pressure built up by expanding vapor bubble above small heat |
| ~1979: Hewlett-Packard | (Independently) develops on-demand impulse method | |
| 1980 | ||
| 1981 | ||
| 1982 | ||
| 1983 | ||
| 1984 | ThinkJet by Hewlett Packard | First mass produced (b/w) thermal inkjet printer |
| First disposable inkjet cartridge | ||
| 1985 | ||
| 1986 | ||
| 1987 | First Color inkjet printer – HP Paintjet | Code named “Squirt”, required special paper, its print cartridges required “priming and wiping” (with a pump and brush supplied with the product), its paper advance mechanism required a special size paper, limited operating humidity range (+20% to +50% RH), fast with good print quality (180dpi). |
| Late 1980s: IJ-technology replaces dot-matrix pin printers to conquer low-cost market of rapidly expanding PC industry | ||
| 1988 | HP DeskJet | |
| 1989 | Epson patents MicroPiezo Technology | |
| Iris Graphics 3047 | First Large-format inkjet photo printer | |
| 1990 | ||
| 1991 | Encad Novajet | Wide-format inkjet printer, first of its type on the market, low price and high-quality printing, not able to render photographic images with precision |
| 1992 | ||
| 1993 | NovaJet II | 2nd gen. version offered a distinct improvement in photo reproduction, with 300 by 300 dot-per-inch (dpi) resolution and streak-free printouts of photographs |
| HP DesignJet 650C | HP’s first large-format color inkjet printer | |
| 1994 | EPSON Stylus® COLOR, EPSON Stylus® Color 600, EPSON Stylus® Color 800 | Six-color photo quality printer, Desktop color ink jet printer with 720 dpi resolution |
| 1995 | ||
| 1996 | ||
| 1997 | EPSON Stylus® Color Photo | Six-color photo quality printer, Desktop color ink jet printers with 1440 dpi resolution |
| 1998 | EPSON Stylus Color 740 | Color ink jet printer with built-in USB connectivity |
| HP DJ 2500/3500 | 600 dpi Photo-quality | |
| 1999 | EPSON Stylus Color 900 | World’s fastest color ink jet printer in its class |
| iMac printer (EPSON Stylus Color 740i) | ||
| ColorSpan Giclee Printmaker | drum-based printer, used 8 inks | |
| 2000 | Mutoh (Agfa, Kodak), Mimaki (Stork) and Roland, | |
| Epson Stylus Photo 870/1270, P2000, 7500, 9500 | ||
| 2001 | ||
| 2002 | Epson 4000, 7600, 9600, P2200 | World’s first 2 picoliter ink drop in an ink jet printer, first seven-color archival desktop photo printer |
| 2003 | ||
| 2004 | HP DJ130 | |
| Canon i9900, IP8500 | ||
| Epson R800, R1800 | ||
| 2005 | Epson 3800, 4800, 7800, 9800, R2400 | |
| 2006 | Canon Pro9500, PROGRAF IPF5000, IPF9000 |
Credits, links:
Wilhelm’s 15-year overview of ink permanence in inkjet printing (pdf download).
Jeff Dwoskin’s Timeline of Printers.
Printhead911- Progress and Trends in Inkjet Printing Technology.
Jens Ducrée and Roland Zengerie: Ink-Jet Technology (pdf download).
The HP Computer Museum.
My own Brief History of Inkjet Printing.
