11 Surprising and Entertaining Printer Fun Facts You Never Knew

1. Comparing Duty Cycles: Apples to Oranges

You know how comparing apples to oranges is fruitless? Well, comparing printer duty cycles can be just as perplexing: duty cycles lack industry standards, so determining the ideal printer for your office is better based on the recommended monthly print volume rather than duty cycle numbers. Best to seek professional advice from reputable vendors like Ricoh to truly understand the print performance of devices and satisfy your organization's ever-evolving printing cravings!
Source => insights.ricoh.co.uk

2. 3D Printed Sandcastle Masterpiece

When life gives you sand, make a sandcastle extraordinaire with technological pizzazz: A marketing whiz used a CubePro printer to 3D print a sandcastle mold, tested its moxie in Montauk, and crafted a beachside masterpiece in under three hours.
Source => 3dsystems.com

Did you know NASA's 3D printed rocket engine injector revolutionized space travel by reducing 115 parts into just 2, making it more cost-effective and efficient? 🚀 Discover the impact of this groundbreaking invention!

=> Fun Facts about 3d-Printing

3. Printer Ink: Pricier Than Blood

It turns out blood may be thicker than water, but not printer ink: HP Black Ink #45 steals the crown as the most expensive liquid, ringing in at $0.71/ml, while our vital human blood only secures second place at $0.40/ml. Next time you print a page, keep in mind that you might just be paying more for your ink than you would for a posh glass of wine or a fancy cuppa joe!
Source => macworld.com

4. The Secret Gossip of Color Laser Printers

Watch your prints, for they may leave a trail behind: Some color laser printers and copiers leave minuscule yellow dots called Machine Identification Codes on every printed page, which can reveal the device's serial number and the date and time of the printing. Crafted to counter counterfeiting by Xerox and Canon in the 1980s, these hidden dots only came to light in 2004. While you may need a high-resolution scanner and software to spot the sneaky yellow blots, they're truly the gossip-hungry wannabe spies of the printing world.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. Xerox: The Unlikely Picasso

Who needs a paintbrush when you've got a Xerox? David Hockney, artistic rebel and photocopier connoisseur, turned your average office machine into the Picasso of printmaking: In 198','=86, Hockney began experimenting with Xerox printers for his Home Made Prints series, masterfully combining hand-drawn elements with abstract shapes and uncovering a "philosophical" connection between the copier and the camera.
Source => myartbroker.com

6. UV-light: Invisible Ink for Top-secret Missions

Good news for secret agents and lovers of invisible ink – printers are now accepting applicants for top-secret, UV-light photocopies! Ever feel the desire to channel your inner James Bond and send a coded message only visible under UV light? Say no more: Some printers can print with invisible UV ink that becomes brightly colored and visible only when exposed to UV light. Perfect for securing important documents, theft protection, and top-secret espionage, this ink is also resistant to heat, sunlight, and evaporation. Epson's Micro Piezo printheads lead the charge in this invisible ink revolution.
Source => uvstuff.com

7. Lasers' Cosmic Tango in Metal 3D Printing

Feeling the power of divine creation, lasers in the realm of metal 3D printing dance a fine jig, fusing powdered particles in a sophisticated cosmic tango: This process, known as Selective Laser Melting (SLM), has emerged as the most mature metal 3D printing technology, utilized across industries such as dental, healthcare, and aerospace, despite its pricey machines and need for dedicated technicians.
Source => markforged.com

8. 3D Printers Can Strut on the Fashion Runway

Move over, Coco Chanel: 3D printers are strutting their way down the fashion industry's runway! With their innovative technology, these machines are letting designers create customized, sustainable pieces all while saving time, money, and Mother Earth.
Source => opengrowth.com

9. Eco-friendly Power Naps for Printers

Breaking news – printers have developed the art of power napping: Modern Xerox multifunction printers are equipped with a low power mode which not only conserves energy but also keeps the machine on standby, ready for immediate action. This energy-saving feature activates after a certain period of inactivity, making it an eco-friendly and cost-effective choice for offices.
Source => pds-mfp.com

10. Kodak Prosper: The Speedy Book Publishing Heartthrob

Forget finding a heart-throb on a dating app; you can find the perfect match for your book-publishing heart at the speed of light (almost!): Meet the Kodak Prosper 1000 Plus Press, one of the world's fastest black-and-white inkjet presses churning out a whopping 4,364 A4-pages-per-minute, ensuring your book printing dreams come true faster than you can say "bibliophile's delight!"
Source => piworld.com

11. Woodblock and Thrill: The Origin of Printing

Before Netflix and chill, there was woodblock and thrill: The history of printing can be traced back to Tang China in the 7th century AD, where woodblock printing emerged as the primary method for printing text and images, eventually culminating in the invention of Gutenberg's mechanical printing press in 15th-century Europe, revolutionizing the distribution of information and literature.
Source => en.wikipedia.org