fotokopi

Fotokopi is the Indonesian term for photocopying, the process of reproducing documents or images using a photocopying device. In everyday Indonesian usage, fotokopi can refer to the copies themselves, the act of copying, or the service provided by a fotokopi shop.

The concept arose from xerography, a dry printing process developed in the 1930s by Chester Carlson. The first successful commercial xerographic copier appeared in the late 1950s, with the Xerox 914 helping popularize the technology. Photocopying reproduces text and images by projecting light onto a charged surface, developing a powder toner, transferring the toner to paper, and fusing it with heat.

Most modern fotokopi devices are laser or LED-based and come in two broad forms: standalone photocopiers and multifunction devices (MFDs) that also scan, print, and sometimes fax. Copy quality is influenced by resolution (measured in dpi), toner quality, paper type, and the machine’s age. Copy speeds are commonly expressed as copies per minute. Devices differ in color capability (black-and-white versus color), paper size, and volume capacity, ranging from personal units to high-volume office machines.

In practice, fotokopi is widely used in offices, schools, libraries, and print shops for duplicating documents, study materials, forms, and archived records. While digital document workflows have expanded, photcopiers remain common due to speed, convenience, and the ability to produce hard copies on demand. Copying copyrighted material may be subject to local laws and copyright considerations.