XEROX 9700 started commercial digital printing

Forty years ago, the launch of the Xerox 9700 — the company’s first commercial laser printer — gave rise to the digital printing industry, which today generates more than $120 billion in global annual revenues.  The 9700 has been cited as the product that heralded the third wave of industrial automation (computer-driven printers) after steam-powered presses in the early 1800s and electric-powered presses later that century.

The Xerox 9700 helped usher in the wave of computer-driven automation in the 1970s that transformed  data centers, copy departments, and ultimately, the printing industry around the world. As one of the most successful products in Xerox history.In the decade after its release, the 9700 was the printing press of choice to print bills and statements for credit cards, banks and utilities. It led the market for high-speed, high-volume production of other types of documents that use transactional data as well, including insurance policies and investment reports.

The 9700 was the first in a long line of iconic products that were made possible , including DocuTech and today’s iGen family.”

The 9700 was retired on the last day of 1997, ending 20 years of market leadership,