Rank Xerox Standard 1385 copying machine, 1960

Rank Xerox Standard 1385 copying machine

This early Xerox Copier uses the attraction of opposite electric charges to reproduce words and images. Inside the copier, a metal plate coated with selenium facilitates this process. A pattern of positive charges on the plate, representing the areas to be copied, attracts negatively charged particles - the toner - which is then heat-sealed on to a piece of paper. This process was pioneered by Chester Carlson (1906-1968) in 1938, but the first commercial copiers were not produced until the 1950s.