xerografische

Xerography, also known as xerography or electrophotography, is a dry electrostatic imaging process used to produce copies and prints. The term xerography derives from the Greek xeros, meaning dry, and graphē, meaning writing. In Dutch, the adjective xerografische is used to describe things related to xerography, such as xerografische kopie (xerographic copy).

The basic principle involves a photoconductive surface, typically a rotating drum or belt, that is uniformly charged. When a document is illuminated, the surface discharges in the illuminated areas while remaining charged in the dark areas, creating a latent electrostatic image. Dry toner particles, charged oppositely to the surface, are attracted to the latent image and form a visible toner image. This image is then transferred to paper and fused by heat and pressure to produce a permanent print.

History and development began with Chester Carlson, who developed the process in the 1930s and demonstrated it successfully in 1938. Haloid Company, which later became Xerox, licensed the technology and introduced the first commercial xerographic copy machine in the 1950s. The term xerography was coined by Carlson to describe this dry imaging method, which would become the foundation of modern office copying and many laser and LED printers.

Applications and evolution have expanded xerography from plain-paper copiers to color laser printers, multifunction devices, and digital imaging workflows. While digital scanning and alternative technologies have diversified imaging, xerography remains a dominant, broadly used method for producing quick, machine-readable copies and prints.