1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Get in text with technology with tech Stuff from works 2 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: dot com. Pather is Welcome to tech Stuff. I am 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer here at 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com and here on our show, 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: we talk about all things technological. Sometimes we look at 6 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: a specific technology. Sometimes we talk about a person who 7 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: is really important in the development of tech as we 8 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: know it. But today we're going to do one of 9 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: the types of episodes that you guys tell me you love, 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: and that's the history the story of a big company 11 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: that's important in technology. And the one we're gonna talk 12 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: about is Xerox. And I know there are a lot 13 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: of people out there who don't realize what how large 14 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: a role Xerox has played in the way technology works 15 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: today and the way that we interact with our technology. 16 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: But the truth is it's a company that has had 17 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: a huge impact on the way we interact with our technology. 18 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: Now today we're gonna focus on the early years of 19 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: Xeroxes development. In fact, we're going to get only up 20 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: to a couple of years after they called themselves the 21 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: Xerox Company for the first time. So we're focusing on 22 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: the early times. But in the second part of this 23 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: episode series, we will focus more on some of the 24 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: R and D that Xerox did that has been so 25 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: transformational to our technology today. So let's focus on some 26 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: early stuff. We're really going to talk about the history 27 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 1: of Xerox, and it may sound straightforward. You're probably thinking 28 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: about copier machines, and in fact that will play a 29 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: huge role in Xerox's history. But we're gonna take some 30 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: time in these episodes because I'm sure it's going to 31 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: require a couple to really talk about how the company 32 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: has developed over time, and it's done far more than 33 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: just make photocopiers and contributed in may your ways to 34 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: our technology. The story stretches back more than a century. Officially, 35 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: Xerox traces its history back to nineteen o six, although 36 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: it was a very different company and it had a 37 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: different name back in those days. And I'm already getting 38 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: ahead of myself, because even if we just jumped into 39 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: nineteen o six, we wouldn't have enough context to understand 40 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,920 Speaker 1: what is happening in the world and and the company 41 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: that would become Xerox. So you know, I love my history, 42 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: and as I've said on other episodes, it's really tricky 43 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 1: to find a starting point for any given actual story, because, 44 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: as it turns out, life is a continuous timeline that 45 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: stretches all the way back into prehistory, which is a 46 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: bit grand to just talk about Xerox. If I were 47 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 1: to say, and then man discovered fire, you would be 48 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: here for many episodes, and I don't think we need 49 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: to go back quite that far. So instead, we're gonna 50 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: talk about what was going on in the eighteen hundreds 51 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century that leads towards the founding of Xerox. Now, 52 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: one person who was incredibly important to those early years 53 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: at Xerox never worked for the company. He was not 54 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: an employee of Xerox at all. In fact, he was 55 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,960 Speaker 1: the man who created a company that was one of 56 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: Xerox's big competitors in the early days, and that was 57 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: George Eastman. He was the guy who founded Eastman Kodak. 58 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: George Eastman left school when he was fourteen years old 59 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: to go to work at an insurance company in Rochester, 60 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: New York. And he did that because his father had 61 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: passed away, and once his father had died, George Eastman 62 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: felt that he needed to go and get a job 63 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: in order to provide for his mother and for his 64 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: two older sisters. Several years later, after he had been 65 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: working for a while, Eastman became fascinated with photography, but 66 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 1: he was really frustrated that the equipment was so bulky 67 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: and awkward to use, and he began to tweak cameras. 68 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: He began to take stuff apart and try and figure 69 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: out ways to put it back together and make it 70 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: more compact and more user friendly. And he was really 71 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: working on a better solution. And among his many contributions 72 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: was the development of photo finishing chemicals. And after a time, 73 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,720 Speaker 1: paper companies began to work on using techniques created by 74 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: Eastman to cope paper for special photographic use. So Kodak 75 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: was selling photographic paper, but they were doing so at 76 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: a premium. Other companies began to spring up trying to 77 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: sell photocopy or not photocopier, but photographic paper two customers, 78 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 1: but at a reduced price. So you saw a lot 79 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: of competition come up in those days. Kodak was doing 80 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: very well. It had really made a name for itself 81 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: early on as a photography company. But these other companies 82 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: that were mostly paper companies were trying to cope paper 83 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: so that they could be used for ato graphic purposes. 84 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: They were trying very hard to try and and and 85 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: compete with Codex consumer products. Now. Eastman also made significant 86 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: contributions to the community of Rochester. He was very much 87 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: a believer in reinvesting into his community, and that included 88 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 1: co founding the University of Rochester with John D. Rockefeller, 89 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: and Kodak was the largest employer in the area leading 90 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 1: into the twentieth century. In two, another important person in 91 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: our story enters, and that is Joseph Robert Wilson, sometimes 92 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: known as Dick to his friends and family and Mr 93 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 1: j R. Too pretty much everybody else. The reason he 94 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: was called Jr. Is his father was Joseph C. Wilson, 95 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: So you had to Joe Wilson's and there's gonna be 96 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 1: a third in just a minute. Uh. And so to 97 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,840 Speaker 1: differentiate the two, you had Joe C. Wilson, who was 98 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: a fairly important person in the Rochester community, and then 99 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: Joseph Robert Wilson or j R. As a young man, Jr. 100 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: Worked in his father's pawn shop in Rochester. He met 101 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: a young lady named Katherine m Upton. She was the 102 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: daughter of a railroad engineer, and the two of them 103 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: fell in love and they got married in nineteen o three. Now, 104 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,679 Speaker 1: while all of that's going on, while the Wilson's family 105 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: is starting to grow, one year earlier, in nineteen o two, 106 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: another company was founded, and this one was called the m. H. 107 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,280 Speaker 1: Koon Company k u h N. This was a paper 108 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,479 Speaker 1: coating company. This company was founded by an immigrant to 109 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,119 Speaker 1: the United States, a person who was an emulsion maker. 110 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,840 Speaker 1: He made these mixtures, these emulsions that you would use 111 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: to code paper for the purposes of turning it into 112 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: photographic paper and uh. He ended up founding this company 113 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,799 Speaker 1: along with some former employees of Eastman Kodak, which again 114 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: that company was very much the largest employer over in Rochester, 115 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: New York. Now JR. Wilson was to start work at 116 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: this company. He was supposed to become an employee. His 117 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: father had arranged for it and made contact with the 118 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: folks over it at MH. Khon and said, can my 119 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: son work there? They said yes? But j. R. Wilson 120 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: fell seriously ill. He he caught a disease that affected 121 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: his kidneys and it laid him out. It put him 122 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: out of commission for about two years he was not 123 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 1: able to work. He was pretty seriously ill. Now he 124 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: eventually recovered from that illness, but by then that struggling 125 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: paper company had folded. It just couldn't couldn't exist anymore. 126 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: I realized I was talking about a paper company folding. 127 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: And you may think that that was an intentional pun, 128 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: but I assure you I didn't in it until after 129 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: I had said it. So the company has gone under, 130 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: and J. C. Wilson, the father Joe Joe C. Wilson, 131 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: decided that j R. Would be able to help head 132 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: up his own small business. So J C. Joe C. 133 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: Wilson decided to put up the money necessary to start 134 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 1: a new business and brought on the employees of MGE 135 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: Coon in the process. So those folks came over from 136 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,839 Speaker 1: the company that was gone under and joined and they 137 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: named this new company the Halloyd Corporation H A. L. 138 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: O I. D. And Halloyd was in reference to some 139 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: of the chemicals in this emulsion that was being used 140 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,719 Speaker 1: to coat the pieces of paper. This would become the 141 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: company that evolves into Xerox. So this is nineteen o six, 142 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: So six we get the Halloyd Corporation founding. This is 143 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 1: the moment that Xerox traces its history back to, even 144 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: though you could argue it goes back even further if 145 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,079 Speaker 1: you're thinking in a big picture kind of way. Now, 146 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 1: the Halloyd Corporation's offices were on the eighth floor of 147 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: the cp Ford Shoe Company on Commercial Street in Rochester, 148 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: New York, and it was a loft space, so it 149 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: meant that they were at the very top of this 150 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,079 Speaker 1: eight story building, which later on would lead J. R. 151 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,559 Speaker 1: Wilson to make the amazing dad joke about how Xerox 152 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: started at the top. It's great, It was literally the 153 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: top floor of the building, which I think is a 154 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: cute story. The Halloyd Corporations product would still be this 155 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: photographic paper, so it's similar to what the previous company 156 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: was making. Uh, so that if you're wondering what this is, 157 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: this is the paper that photographers would use to produce photographs. 158 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 1: And the goal of the Halloid Corporation was to make 159 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: photographic paper that would be at a lower cost than 160 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: what Kodak could offer, and so they could then sell 161 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: small all are batches of this stuff. They couldn't produce 162 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: it in the same volume that Kodak could, but they 163 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: could do so at lower cost to the photographers. So 164 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: they were able to make a small profitable business, but 165 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: it was modest. It wasn't like it wasn't doing crazy 166 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 1: amounts of business like Kodak was, So Kodak really didn't 167 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,840 Speaker 1: have any concern. There was a tiny little company that 168 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: didn't compete on any realistic level with Kodak at the time. 169 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: The process they used to make their photographic paper was 170 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: not exactly high tech. They would take this emulsion, they 171 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: would take sheets of paper, they would coat the paper 172 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 1: in the emulsion, and then they would dry the paper 173 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 1: by blowing cold air across it. And they used a 174 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: pretty primitive form of air conditioning to do it. They 175 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: would get enormous blocks of ice, and they would use 176 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 1: fans to blow air across the ice so that they 177 00:10:55,600 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 1: could create this cool breeze to dry off the emulsion 178 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: coated pieces of paper, and uh set that emulsion mixture 179 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 1: into the paper itself. You know, you're setting it so 180 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 1: that it actually can be used for photographic purposes. The 181 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: big disadvantage to this was that there wasn't really a 182 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 1: lot of ways to to perform quality control, so the 183 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: product was largely inconsistent in those early days, there'd be 184 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: some batches that be great and some batches that were 185 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: not so great, and sometimes it meant that the company 186 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:32,960 Speaker 1: had to throw out a batch because it just wasn't 187 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: it wasn't good enough to to sell to anybody. So 188 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 1: that inconsistency was costing the money. And at that point J. R. 189 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: Wilson hired an emulsion expert, someone who really knew the 190 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:49,679 Speaker 1: chemistry behind this, to help him and received some sound 191 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: advice from this expert. The expert said, what they really 192 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: need to do was relocate the company to a new 193 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: spot where a new manufacturing plant that could be dedicated 194 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: to the manufacturing of this photographic paper, and that would 195 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: help them control the entire production experience from the beginning 196 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: through to the end, and that would help guarantee a consistent, 197 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: reliable product. And so in nineteen o seven, one year 198 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,680 Speaker 1: after they founded the company, the entire company prepared to 199 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:19,959 Speaker 1: move the operation to a new manufacturing plant. And by 200 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: that I mean the entire company consisted of a dozen people. 201 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: It was very tiny at the time. The move was 202 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: going to be extremely expensive. However, even though it was 203 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: a tiny company, We're talking about fifty thousand dollars needed 204 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: for the move to actually happen. And that doesn't sound 205 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: like a lot necessarily in the grand scheme of things, 206 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: but fifty thousand dollars in nineteen o seven is the 207 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: equivalent of more than a million dollars in today's money, 208 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: So it was a significant investment that J. R. Wilson 209 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: needed in order to make this happen. He did not 210 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: have fifty thousand dollars, and so there really weren't a 211 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: whole lot of options open to him. Back in those days, 212 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: you couldn't find venture capitalists or get really impressive loans 213 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: from banks. You essentially had to find a rich Hatron 214 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: type person to put forth that money. So in this case, 215 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: that person was Gilbert E. Mosher. Mosher had founded a 216 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 1: company called Century Camera, which he had sold at a 217 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: tidy profit to Eastman Kodak, so he was really well 218 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: off already, and he agreed that he would front the 219 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: Halloyd Corporation the money they needed to move, but he 220 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,319 Speaker 1: had some really hefty demands of his own that they 221 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: were going to have to meet for him to do this. 222 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 1: One of those demands was that he himself would become 223 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: the head of business operations and that his associate J. 224 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: Milner Walmsley would have ownership control effectively of the company. 225 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,840 Speaker 1: That j R. Wilson would still own shares in the company, 226 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: but those shares in turn would be controlled by Walmsley, 227 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: which make the shares sound like they were Wilson's in 228 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 1: name only. Mosher and Walmsley had a lot of experience 229 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: running successful businesses, and Jr. Really wasn't in any position 230 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 1: to disagree. He would later complain extensively about the two 231 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: of them, uh and their management style, which was very 232 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 1: different from his own. It was, however, a great move 233 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: for the company. It was it led the Halloy In 234 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: Corporation to a profitable business. Jr. Was known as being 235 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: a great guide to customers. He was really outgoing and 236 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: gregarious two people who were coming into to look at 237 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: the products. But he had a reputation for being easily 238 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: upset at his employees. He had the sort of dark 239 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 1: moods in the office and was known to berate people 240 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: if he felt that they were not doing a good 241 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: enough job. And Uh, it was it was kind of tough. 242 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 1: It sounds like to be an employee of J. R. 243 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: Wilson that it was not always very pleasant and when 244 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: he was happy things were great, but he could get 245 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: really angry at the drop of a hat, according to 246 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:13,720 Speaker 1: some reports from his employees at the time. So again, 247 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: Jared Wilson is known for complaining about his bosses mos 248 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:23,920 Speaker 1: Mosher and Walmsley, but otherwise things kept on going pretty well. 249 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: His young son, j R. Wilson's young son, Joseph Chamberlain Wilson, 250 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: named after his grandfather. So you had Joe C. Wilson 251 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: j R. Wilson, then you have Joe Wilson. Everyone refers 252 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: to this particular Joe Wilson as v. Joe Wilson. So 253 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: Joseph Chamberlain Wilson he witnessed his father's behavior and took 254 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: note of it and essentially said, you know what, if 255 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: I'm ever in a position where I'm leading a business, 256 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: i am not going to follow this particular managerial style. 257 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna yell at my employees in this way. 258 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,080 Speaker 1: I'm not going to be partying with them after hours 259 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: and going drinking at all hours and then turning around 260 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: and yelling at them. And I'm certainly not going to 261 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: go home and complain about the people who made this 262 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 1: business possible because they fronted a huge amount of money 263 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: so that we could have the manufacturing facilities we need. 264 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: So he was taking this all as kind of object 265 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,560 Speaker 1: lessons at the time. He was a very young man 266 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: around this time. Now, young Joe Wilson was a good student. 267 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,479 Speaker 1: He enjoyed studying. He was a fairly quiet and shy 268 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: young man. But he also was an honor student. He 269 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: was valedictorian of his high school class, and afterward he 270 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: enrolled in at the University of Rochester. Now, originally he 271 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: was looking at possibly moving away and doing studies at 272 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: some other university. His father, however, j R. Said Hey, 273 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: if you enrolling classes at the University of Rochester, I'll 274 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: give you a buick. And Joe Wilson said, I like 275 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: a buick, And so he enrolled at the University of 276 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 1: Rochester h and pursued a degree in economics. He ended 277 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: up getting two buicks. Actually, um, although the second one 278 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,200 Speaker 1: replaced the first one. It wasn't like he was driving 279 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 1: two of them at the same time, strapped to his 280 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: feet like giant electric razors. That's silly. You don't have 281 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: those scooters back at that time. And I like the 282 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,480 Speaker 1: thought of it. I want to see fan art of 283 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: Joe Wilson astride two buicks gloriously riding off into the sunset. 284 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,199 Speaker 1: But I can't draw that, so I leave that up 285 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: to you guys. He had really good grades at university 286 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: from in every single class except for physical education. He 287 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 1: was not a sporting kind of guy. He had he 288 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: was nearsighted, and he he liked to participate in a 289 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:56,879 Speaker 1: supportive fashion in sports, like he would be a manager 290 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,679 Speaker 1: for a team, but he didn't like playing on teams 291 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: or participating in sports. Directly after he goes undergraduate degree, 292 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:07,879 Speaker 1: he really wasn't sure what he wanted to do next. 293 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: He wasn't sure where he wanted to go. And part 294 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,760 Speaker 1: of that was not just him being uncertain. It was 295 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,720 Speaker 1: because the United States at the time was entering the 296 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:21,119 Speaker 1: Great Depression, and this was an incredibly difficult time for 297 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:26,679 Speaker 1: millions of people in the United States. So he he 298 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:28,960 Speaker 1: saw that there were fewer and fewer options. There are 299 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: fewer jobs that were out there, And a professor of 300 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 1: his said, you know what you probably should do, since 301 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,640 Speaker 1: you don't really have an idea of where you want 302 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: to go yet and things are pretty tough, you should 303 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: enroll at the Harvard Business School and attend there for 304 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: a couple of years and really expand your education. You'll 305 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: get to see more opportunities that way, and you might 306 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: end up landing something you really want. And he thought, 307 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:53,679 Speaker 1: you know what, that sounds like a good idea. And 308 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 1: of course, worst case scenario, I can go work for 309 00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: my dad's company, the Halloy Corporation. So he goes and 310 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: enrolls in the Harvard Business School. While he was there, 311 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 1: twenty percent of his classmates had to drop out during 312 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,800 Speaker 1: their first year due to the Great Depression. They either 313 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: had to leave in order to help support their families 314 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 1: or they literally could not afford to attend anymore. And 315 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,359 Speaker 1: so it was a pretty hefty dropout rate when you 316 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: lose a fifth of your classmates due to the economic times. 317 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: But he was able to stick with it, and he 318 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: graduated with honors from the Harvard Business School. And in 319 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,679 Speaker 1: the meantime, he also would work for the Hallowyd Corporation. 320 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: He worked in their New York City office, But yeah, 321 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: he ended up working there, especially in the summers, and 322 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,679 Speaker 1: he made twenty dollars a week as an assistant to 323 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 1: the bookkeeping department. He would continue working for Halloyd after 324 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,200 Speaker 1: graduating and He also got engaged to a woman named 325 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: Peggy Curran. He had actually met Peggy Curran while he 326 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: was studying at the University of Rochester. She was a 327 00:19:56,359 --> 00:20:00,199 Speaker 1: friend of a friend. That friend that they had in 328 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: common ended up catching pneumonia and was very seriously ill 329 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:09,479 Speaker 1: for quite some time, and both Joe Wilson and Peggy 330 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: Curran would check in on this mutual friend they had 331 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: um and they wanted to make sure he was all right, 332 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: and as a result, they met each other. They fell 333 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: in love, they started dating. They had a massive, ugly breakup. 334 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,639 Speaker 1: Peggy ended up moving away from Rochester for a while 335 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 1: to Buffalo, distant exotic Buffalo, New York, and Joe Wilson 336 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 1: was despondent but figured that, you know, that was just 337 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: something that runs course, until he encountered another friend of 338 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 1: his who said, hey, where's that nice young lady you 339 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: were always hanging out with? And he says, oh, well, 340 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,360 Speaker 1: she's moved off to Buffalo. She shuffled off to Buffalo, 341 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: in fact, and the fellow said, you need to get 342 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,119 Speaker 1: your butt to Buffalo because she was the best thing 343 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: that ever happened to you, and if you don't do it, 344 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: you're an idiot, and Joe Wilson said, you know what, 345 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 1: You're probably right. He shuffled his way off to Buffalo 346 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,520 Speaker 1: and he started to court Peggy Anew, who was not 347 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:10,560 Speaker 1: immediately receptive to his advances, but she eventually started listening 348 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: to him more. And the story goes that at the 349 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 1: end of one of their their meetings, she was on 350 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,679 Speaker 1: a train to leave and he was on the platform 351 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,160 Speaker 1: to see her off, and as the train pulled out, 352 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 1: she leaned out and yelled, yes, I will marry you, 353 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: which is adorable that that uh worked out that way. Well, 354 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 1: all of this is obviously big life changing moments for 355 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:42,679 Speaker 1: Joe Wilson and Uh. He would end up marrying Peggy 356 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:47,160 Speaker 1: Current on October twelfth, nineteen thirty five. He's also still 357 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 1: working with the Halloyd Corporation and things were actually going 358 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: pretty well over at Halloyd. Unlike many other businesses during 359 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: the Great Depression, Halloyd was actually making a profit. They 360 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,359 Speaker 1: weren't just staying in business, they were making money. They 361 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,879 Speaker 1: weren't blowing everything out of the water. But in a 362 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: world where many people were out of a job, this 363 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: was a company that was actually able to stay solvent 364 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: and make a profit, which is no small shakes. Also, 365 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: photography was still one of the really big developing industries. 366 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:22,880 Speaker 1: I didn't mean to make that pun either, but it 367 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: was a developing industry at that time. Halloyd also paid 368 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:33,880 Speaker 1: attention to some really interesting uh innovations. For example, there 369 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: was a chemist named Homer Piper who created a new 370 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 1: product called Halloyd Record in nine, which would become a 371 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 1: very popular product, and it was this contribution that led 372 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: to the company's overall success, particularly as they were waiting 373 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:57,360 Speaker 1: through the rest of the depression. This lesson really made 374 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: a mark on young Joe Wilson. He saw that there 375 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: was this innovation that really set Halloyd Corporation apart and 376 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,479 Speaker 1: helped guarantee them some success, and he said that lesson 377 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: was something he would carry with him through the rest 378 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: of his life. That he wanted to make sure that 379 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,640 Speaker 1: the company that he worked for, whether it was Halloyd 380 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:22,720 Speaker 1: Corporation or someone else, would always pursue innovation, because only 381 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: through innovation can you make sure that you are guaranteeing 382 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,200 Speaker 1: you have a spot at the industry. If you stick 383 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,240 Speaker 1: with the same thing and you never deviate from it, 384 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: sooner or later someone else is going to do it 385 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 1: better than you. Do, and you're gonna be out of business. 386 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,880 Speaker 1: So he said, the only way you could prosper would 387 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: be to cultivate a company that pursued innovation in an 388 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: effort to avoid stagnation. Now you might wonder what the 389 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 1: heck is Halloyd record, but it was a type of 390 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: photographic paper that was used in rectograph and photostat machines. 391 00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 1: Now that means I actually have the opportunity to tell 392 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,160 Speaker 1: you how about how some tech works. This is tech stuff, 393 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: after all, and it is part of how stuff works. 394 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:08,159 Speaker 1: So we're gonna actually talk about how the rectograph and 395 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,120 Speaker 1: photo staff machines worked, and we'll get back to the 396 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: story of Xerox Company once I'm done with that. Now, 397 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 1: before I go and get all that tech stuffs out 398 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: of the way, we actually do need to take a 399 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 1: quick break first and thank our sponsors. All right. So 400 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,640 Speaker 1: I was talking about rectograph and photostat machines and what 401 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: the heck are these things? Well, they used the process 402 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: of photography to make copies. So here's how they worked. 403 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: In general. Specifically, photo staff machines worked this way. You 404 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,600 Speaker 1: start off with a fairly large apparatus inside which you 405 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:54,720 Speaker 1: would load photographic papers such as the type that Halloid made, 406 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:58,119 Speaker 1: the Halloid record that stuff I talked about just a 407 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 1: second ago. In fact, the Rectograph company, which got it 408 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,160 Speaker 1: start in the early nineteen hundreds, relocated from Oklahoma City 409 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,760 Speaker 1: to Rochester, New York, specifically because they relied upon the 410 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:14,720 Speaker 1: Halloid Company's photographic paper for their products. So they said, well, 411 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: we're gonna relocate our company to be closer to that 412 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:21,480 Speaker 1: one so that we can decrease the uh, the supply chain, 413 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: which was kind of interesting that they would make that 414 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,200 Speaker 1: big of a move. Now, this apparatus, whether it was 415 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 1: a rectograph or photostat, would have a large camera as 416 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 1: its main component, and you would take a photo of documents. 417 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: So you have some documents set out on a platform, 418 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: you light it really well, and you take a picture 419 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,960 Speaker 1: of it. And a photo takes a while, Like you 420 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 1: would have the exposure last maybe ten seconds, So think 421 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: of a shutter speed on a camera lasting ten seconds. 422 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:52,840 Speaker 1: It means that you have to keep it perfectly still. 423 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,199 Speaker 1: Any motion is going to be seen as blur in 424 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 1: the final image. And since you're trying to make a 425 00:25:58,240 --> 00:25:59,919 Speaker 1: copy of a document and be able to read it, 426 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: it meant that you had to keep things absolutely still. Uh. 427 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:08,800 Speaker 1: This image is then exposed onto rolls of photographic papers, 428 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: such as that Halloyd record. There would be a prism 429 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 1: between the lens and the paper that could reverse this image. 430 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: Otherwise everything would be a hundred eighty degree mirror image 431 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:25,600 Speaker 1: of the original documentation. And then the photostat approach would 432 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: differ a little bit from the rectograph with Photostat, which 433 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: was largely supported by Kodak. Kodak was not officially the 434 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 1: parent company of the Photostat company, but they might as 435 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:42,200 Speaker 1: well have been. With the Photostat, after you exposed this 436 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: photographic paper to the image, you take the paper, you 437 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: would treat it chemically like an old style photograph. You 438 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 1: put it through the development chemicals to develop that image. 439 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,199 Speaker 1: You would end up with a negative image of the 440 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,880 Speaker 1: papers that you shot, so all the dark areas would 441 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,359 Speaker 1: be light and all the light areas would be dark. 442 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:07,399 Speaker 1: You could then photograph the this negative to create a 443 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: positive print of the original documents, so you have to 444 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 1: send it through a second round of photography. But then 445 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:15,879 Speaker 1: you could print out the original documents, and that's how 446 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,320 Speaker 1: you would make copies. You would photograph that negative print 447 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 1: repeatedly and you would produce the copies you wanted. It 448 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: was slow, but a lot faster than doing all of 449 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 1: this by hand. Now, the rectograph process did not require 450 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: that intermediate negative step. You could print directly from the 451 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,920 Speaker 1: camera onto the photographic paper, and this ended up being 452 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:40,640 Speaker 1: an enormous benefit of the rectograph compared to the photostat 453 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 1: because of the United States court system. You see, the 454 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:50,480 Speaker 1: court system ruled that photostatic copies are inadmissible as evidence 455 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: in a court of law because you could actually tamper 456 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: with that intermediate negative and alter evidence. So if you 457 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:01,440 Speaker 1: could get hold of the negative that was produced from 458 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:04,719 Speaker 1: the first part of the photostatic process and change it, 459 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,119 Speaker 1: all the prints you make would be the product of 460 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,880 Speaker 1: these changed negatives. But the rectograph didn't have that intermediate negative. 461 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:16,120 Speaker 1: It was printing directly on the photographic paper and then 462 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 1: you had your print right then and there, and for 463 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: that reason it was admissible as court evidence because there 464 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:24,760 Speaker 1: was nothing for you to be able to alter. You 465 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 1: were taking images of a document and that was what 466 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,680 Speaker 1: the copies would be. So the Rectograph company could survive 467 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:36,800 Speaker 1: against this much more financially solid photostatic company, even though 468 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:40,560 Speaker 1: the photostat company had the backing of Eastman Kodak. So 469 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:44,000 Speaker 1: it was a benefit just of the way the technology worked. 470 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: It just happened to be that it was an advantage 471 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:52,000 Speaker 1: that photostatic didn't have, and that's how Rectograph, despite being 472 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: a much smaller entity, was able to survive. And again 473 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,400 Speaker 1: they're working with the Halloid Corporation. This would also be 474 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: a precursor or to electrostatic photo copying, which is what 475 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,240 Speaker 1: Xerox would build its name on. It's a completely different 476 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: process and we will go through and talk about how 477 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 1: it works later in this episode. But this kind of 478 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:18,320 Speaker 1: was the thing that gets Joe Wilson thinking about branching 479 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 1: out from just making photographic paper, that the company needs 480 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: to make something else in order to not just get 481 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,720 Speaker 1: knocked out of business by Eastman Kodak. So Hallowd Corporation 482 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:33,160 Speaker 1: at that point was just making paper, not the actual 483 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: machines to you to create copies. And the Halloyd Record 484 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,479 Speaker 1: was in high demand even during the depression. That that 485 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: let Halloyd Corporation stay in business and employees were able 486 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: to write out the tough times and relative prosperity compared 487 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 1: to their fellow citizens of the United States. But being 488 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,520 Speaker 1: in such close proximity with Eastman Kodak. I mean both 489 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 1: companies were in Rochester, New York, which at the time 490 00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 1: was fairly small. It was kind of scary because Eastman 491 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: Kodak was clearly interested in dominating that photographic paper business, 492 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: so it meant that they were in the danger zone. 493 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 1: They took the highway there. Fortunately for Halloyd, the U 494 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: S Government was really cracking down on companies that were 495 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 1: becoming monopolies. This was an era in which the government 496 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,959 Speaker 1: would force massive companies to break up into smaller ones 497 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: if in fact they were a monopoly within their industry 498 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:33,840 Speaker 1: or within specific regions. Because monopolies are they're non competitive. 499 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 1: There's no way for the consumer to benefit. If there's 500 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: only one company that's providing the thing, they can demand 501 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 1: whatever price they want and they're the only game in town. 502 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 1: See also Internet service providers in the United States. Unlike 503 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 1: certain people, I do not agree that a single ESP 504 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 1: in a region allows for competition. Enough of that anyway. 505 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 1: So it turns out Eastman Kodak really didn't want to 506 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 1: push anyone else out of business either, because if they did, 507 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: then the government might look at Kodak and say, you're 508 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: clearly a monopoly, We're going to break up your company 509 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,920 Speaker 1: into smaller pieces. So in order for them to stay 510 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:22,520 Speaker 1: a solid single company, Kodak wanted to encourage competition in 511 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:26,240 Speaker 1: the space as long as that competition wasn't so great 512 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,800 Speaker 1: as to actually pose a threat. And the Halloyd Corporation, 513 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 1: while it made photographic paper, which is what Eastman Kodak 514 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,960 Speaker 1: was making a lot of, it was too small for 515 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 1: it to be a real threat, so Kodak wanted Halloyd 516 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:43,479 Speaker 1: Corporation to continue to exist. It benefited Kodak because it 517 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,400 Speaker 1: meant that they could keep on operating without the danger 518 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 1: of being called a monopoly. And it helped that Halloyd 519 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:54,440 Speaker 1: Corporation was in Rochester the same as Eastman Kodak was, 520 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,760 Speaker 1: because Kodak could easily point to Hallow Corporation and say, look, clearly, 521 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:02,440 Speaker 1: we're not a monopoly. Here's a company in our hometown 522 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 1: that does the same thing we're doing, and they're in business. 523 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 1: So it was kind of an insurance policy for Kodak 524 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:15,400 Speaker 1: against getting broken up into smaller companies, which meant Hallowyd Corporation, 525 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:18,440 Speaker 1: while it wasn't terribly flattering to be seen as an 526 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:23,320 Speaker 1: insurance policy, was able to continue to exist and to innovate. 527 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty five, Halloyd would purchase the Rectograph Company, 528 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: that same company I was talking about earlier that had 529 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 1: relocated from Oklahoma City to Rochester, New York in seven. 530 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,560 Speaker 1: By five, the companies have been working very closely together. 531 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:43,200 Speaker 1: The founder of the Rectograph Company had kind of lost 532 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:47,959 Speaker 1: interest in business. He had become obsessed with golf and 533 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:52,240 Speaker 1: just wanted to retire and become a golfer. So they 534 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 1: started to arrange this acquisition for hallowd Company to buy 535 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 1: the Rectograph Company and bring both of those entities under 536 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:04,280 Speaker 1: one figurative roof. The following year, nineteen thirty six, Halloyd 537 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:09,160 Speaker 1: converted into a publicly traded company and they started selling 538 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,560 Speaker 1: shares of the company on the stock exchange. This was 539 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:16,400 Speaker 1: in part to help pay for that acquisition. To raise 540 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,760 Speaker 1: the capital needed to buy the Rectograph Company, they went 541 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:23,280 Speaker 1: public and sold off shares that men a flood influx 542 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: of cash came into the company and they could dedicate 543 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,880 Speaker 1: that to acquiring the Rectograph Company. Now. One of the 544 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 1: employees of the Rectograph Company was initially pretty unhappy about 545 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:38,160 Speaker 1: this acquisition was a German immigrant named John desaur and 546 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:42,360 Speaker 1: he had immigrated from Germany and nineteen twenty nine, partly 547 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: because his father said, you should go to America. There's 548 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 1: lots of opportunity there. He also wanted to avoid being 549 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:53,560 Speaker 1: drafted into what would eventually become Hitler's armed forces, so 550 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 1: he could kind of see the writing on the wall 551 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:57,160 Speaker 1: and did not want to be part of that. He 552 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: moved to the United States. He was early able to 553 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,479 Speaker 1: speak any English. He was on the streets of New 554 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,840 Speaker 1: York City and it took him weeks for him to 555 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 1: find a job, so he was practically destitute on the 556 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 1: streets of New York trying to find work. He eventually 557 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:16,440 Speaker 1: found some work. He was able to find a German 558 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:20,760 Speaker 1: speaking employee of another company and found some work before 559 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:27,880 Speaker 1: joining the Rectograph Company. And he would become incredibly important 560 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: because it was it was the sour who would see 561 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:36,279 Speaker 1: an article about a piece of technology that would become 562 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:40,600 Speaker 1: a corner stone of Halloyd Corporation and later on the 563 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:45,440 Speaker 1: Xerox Company. So it's a good thing that he decided 564 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:49,800 Speaker 1: to stick around with Halloyd Corporation. Otherwise the history of 565 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:55,360 Speaker 1: Xerox would possibly have ended sometime around nineteen forty seven 566 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,080 Speaker 1: forty eight, something like that now. Around the same time, 567 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,439 Speaker 1: there was a Los student who was creating that very 568 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:06,399 Speaker 1: technology that do Saur would learn about and then bring 569 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:10,240 Speaker 1: over to Halloy in Corporation. UH. This guy was named 570 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:16,800 Speaker 1: Chester Carlson, and Carlson had a real problem on his hands. 571 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:20,959 Speaker 1: So he was attending law school. He was studying patent law, 572 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 1: and he had to copy lots and lots of text 573 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:28,640 Speaker 1: from various law books and it was a painstaking process. 574 00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:33,440 Speaker 1: Carlson also suffered from arthritis, so it was literally painful 575 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:36,280 Speaker 1: for him to make all these copies. He had arthritis 576 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:40,280 Speaker 1: of the spine and bending over a table scratching down 577 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:45,120 Speaker 1: copies of legal text was excruciatingly painful, and he thought 578 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,640 Speaker 1: there has to be a better way, and he started 579 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,360 Speaker 1: to experiment. He started to think about ways where he 580 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,600 Speaker 1: might be able to make a copy of a text 581 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: quickly and easily. And he later on with land a 582 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 1: job the patent office, which meant that he had to 583 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:06,279 Speaker 1: continue making copies. So he had a real drive to 584 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:09,400 Speaker 1: figure out how to solve this problem, and he found 585 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:13,680 Speaker 1: an article in a German science journal. It was written 586 00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:17,920 Speaker 1: by a guy named Paul Selennier. Selenia was interested in 587 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:23,360 Speaker 1: photo conductivity and electrostatic images at Selennier had had observed 588 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:27,960 Speaker 1: that when light touched a photo conductive surface, the electrical 589 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:32,680 Speaker 1: conductivity of that surface would increase as a result, and 590 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,840 Speaker 1: Carlson looked at that idea and began to experiment with 591 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:37,960 Speaker 1: chemicals and paper to see if he might find a 592 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:42,080 Speaker 1: practical application of that information. He said, well, now that 593 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:44,520 Speaker 1: we know that it does this, maybe there's something we 594 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:48,239 Speaker 1: could specifically do with that information that would allow us 595 00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:52,799 Speaker 1: to make copies. So he ended up working on this. 596 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:54,800 Speaker 1: He worked out of the home for a long time 597 00:36:55,719 --> 00:36:59,920 Speaker 1: of eventually his wife demanded that he opened up a 598 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:04,480 Speaker 1: a lab somewhere else. He was cooking up sulfur in 599 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:07,520 Speaker 1: his home and so his house would often smell of 600 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,080 Speaker 1: rotten eggs. There was one time where apparently some of 601 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: the chemicals he was working on over the flame of 602 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:19,799 Speaker 1: his home stove caught fire and nearly turned into a catastrophe. 603 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:22,000 Speaker 1: Although they were able to put out the flames before 604 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:25,160 Speaker 1: any massive damage was done. His wife said, you know what, 605 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:27,680 Speaker 1: for the sake of our marriage, you're going to find 606 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,680 Speaker 1: a different place to do this, and so he moved out. Uh, 607 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:33,560 Speaker 1: he moved all the experiments out of their home. He 608 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:37,239 Speaker 1: opened up a small research lab and he hired on 609 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:41,920 Speaker 1: a research assistant named Otto Corne and they started working 610 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,800 Speaker 1: with a zinc plate. So a plate made of zinc 611 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:50,680 Speaker 1: and they coated it with sulfur. And then they decided 612 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,560 Speaker 1: to try and make a copy of some information that 613 00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:57,480 Speaker 1: they could lay down against this zinc plate. They used 614 00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:03,200 Speaker 1: a glass microscope slide as their document, and on this 615 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:07,200 Speaker 1: glass slide they use some India inc and they wrote 616 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:13,239 Speaker 1: out the following ten dash twenty two dasht a story up. 617 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:18,080 Speaker 1: They shaded down the windows, they pulled all the curtains. 618 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:21,920 Speaker 1: They made it as dark as they could. Uh. Kearney 619 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:25,399 Speaker 1: then rubbed this zinc plate with a handkerchief to help 620 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:28,520 Speaker 1: build up an electrostatic charge. So this is similar to 621 00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:33,920 Speaker 1: grabbing a balloon and rubbing the balloon against say a sweater, 622 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:36,400 Speaker 1: so that you can build up an electrostatic charge, and 623 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:39,040 Speaker 1: then hold that balloon near your kid's head so that 624 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,560 Speaker 1: your kid's hair all stands out on end. It's fun 625 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:46,600 Speaker 1: to do just in general, your kid gets to learn 626 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:48,400 Speaker 1: science and you get to make your kid look like 627 00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:54,720 Speaker 1: a crazy person. So highly recommended. So uh same effect. 628 00:38:54,719 --> 00:38:57,760 Speaker 1: Though you're building up this electrostatic charge. So he's rubbing 629 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:01,040 Speaker 1: down this zinc plate coated and sulfur with a handkerchief 630 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,600 Speaker 1: builds up an electric electrostatic charge across the surface of 631 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:07,920 Speaker 1: the plate. They would then lay this glass slide on 632 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:11,680 Speaker 1: top of the plate. Then they exposed the whole plate 633 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:16,680 Speaker 1: to a very bright incandescent lamp. They turned off the lamp, 634 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,239 Speaker 1: they removed the slide, and then they would cover the 635 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:24,920 Speaker 1: plate in a sprinkling of lycopodium powder, which they then 636 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:28,399 Speaker 1: would gently blow away. So they blow the excess powder off. 637 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:32,040 Speaker 1: So you've got this zinc plate with sulfur coating it. 638 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:35,840 Speaker 1: You put the little uh you rub it down so 639 00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:39,040 Speaker 1: you get the electrostatic charge built up. You put the 640 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:43,600 Speaker 1: glass microscope slide on there with the ink on it. 641 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,400 Speaker 1: You expose it to light, turn the light off, remove 642 00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:49,480 Speaker 1: the slide, put this powder on there. Blow the powder 643 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,919 Speaker 1: off and low, and behold the spots where the ink 644 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:58,239 Speaker 1: had been, the dark spots the powder adhered to it. 645 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,160 Speaker 1: Everywhere else the the powder blue away, but in the 646 00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:06,160 Speaker 1: spot where the ink was, the powder remained, so it 647 00:40:06,239 --> 00:40:09,120 Speaker 1: stuck to the sections that had not been exposed to 648 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:12,800 Speaker 1: the bright light. They repeated this experiment a few times 649 00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,799 Speaker 1: to verify the results, make sure they weren't just imagining 650 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,839 Speaker 1: that the area that had been covered by ink was 651 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:22,040 Speaker 1: still coated in dust. They wanted to make sure they 652 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:25,480 Speaker 1: were right. And then after a few more tries, they decided, 653 00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:29,600 Speaker 1: let's see if we can transfer the print that's left 654 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:32,200 Speaker 1: behind with this dust onto something else. And they used 655 00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:34,759 Speaker 1: wax sheets of paper, so she sheets of wax paper, 656 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:37,120 Speaker 1: I should say, not wax sheets of paper, sheets of 657 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:39,000 Speaker 1: wax papers. They would heat up the wax paper a 658 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,440 Speaker 1: little bit to melt the wax, lay it down against 659 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,640 Speaker 1: the plate, and that melted wax would adhere to the 660 00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:48,719 Speaker 1: powder that was left behind. They lifted it up and 661 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:51,239 Speaker 1: saw that sure enough, it left a copy. It was 662 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:54,840 Speaker 1: a successful copy. And then Carlson proceeded to patent the 663 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:57,480 Speaker 1: crap out of everything because he had worked in the 664 00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,680 Speaker 1: patent office and he knew how important patents were, so 665 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:04,319 Speaker 1: he was very wise to protect his intellectual property, and 666 00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:10,399 Speaker 1: he got lots of patents about this technology. Meanwhile, back 667 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,280 Speaker 1: over at the Halloy Corporation in nineteen thirty eight, Mosher 668 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,520 Speaker 1: who had been there remember since nineteen oh seven, He 669 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:18,759 Speaker 1: was the one who fronted the money that allowed them 670 00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:23,480 Speaker 1: to locate them at actual manufacturing plant. He decided he 671 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:26,359 Speaker 1: would not stand for re election as the president of 672 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:30,000 Speaker 1: the company. He was ready to retire. Now J R. Wilson, 673 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:34,719 Speaker 1: the guy who was the founder of this company and 674 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:38,880 Speaker 1: the father of Joe Wilson, would become the president. Joe 675 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:43,880 Speaker 1: Wilson became secretary treasurer. By nineteen forty Joe Wilson was 676 00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:46,759 Speaker 1: elected to the company's board of directors and he had 677 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:49,839 Speaker 1: become involved in managerial meetings. He was always looking for 678 00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,920 Speaker 1: ways that the company could continue to innovate and make 679 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:56,960 Speaker 1: itself secure while still existing within the shadow of Kodak, 680 00:41:57,040 --> 00:42:01,640 Speaker 1: which again was a giant in Rochester, New York. In 681 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:05,719 Speaker 1: nineteen forty four, Joe Wilson was poised to take over 682 00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:08,759 Speaker 1: the company from his father, so he was going to 683 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,040 Speaker 1: become the next president. In fact, he was well on 684 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:13,840 Speaker 1: his way to having that happen. That's when John De 685 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,359 Speaker 1: Sour had transition to become the head of research over 686 00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:22,759 Speaker 1: at Halloyd and in July, John de Sour read an 687 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:26,759 Speaker 1: article in the periodical Radio News that was all about 688 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:31,000 Speaker 1: this process that Carlson had created. At that point, Carlson 689 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:35,120 Speaker 1: had entered into a partnership with a nonprofit research organization 690 00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:39,520 Speaker 1: called the Batel Memorial Institute, and the sour saw the potential. 691 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:44,520 Speaker 1: No Pun intended of using photo conductive processes to make copies, 692 00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:47,680 Speaker 1: and Halloyd was ready to make a deal. Now. That 693 00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:50,879 Speaker 1: deal would end up being fairly favorable to Battell. That 694 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:56,000 Speaker 1: nonprofit organization they held the rights to Carlson's idea, and 695 00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:59,680 Speaker 1: the organization would end up receiving six of any royalties 696 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:03,320 Speaker 1: from the invention. The Battel version was a little different 697 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:07,440 Speaker 1: from Carlson's original experiments. For one thing, the organization had 698 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:11,600 Speaker 1: ditched the sulfur coated zinc plate in favor of using selenium, 699 00:43:11,640 --> 00:43:15,480 Speaker 1: which is a common chemical element and much more effective 700 00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:19,600 Speaker 1: than sulfur if you want to use it for this purpose. 701 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:22,799 Speaker 1: Selenium is a semiconductor, meaning there are times when it 702 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:25,040 Speaker 1: acts as a conductor of electricity in times when it 703 00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:28,040 Speaker 1: acts as an insulator. That's exactly the property you want 704 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,919 Speaker 1: or something like this. If you're going to charge part 705 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:35,799 Speaker 1: of a surface and leave another part of the surface uncharged, 706 00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:40,279 Speaker 1: it needs to be of semiconductor material. Betel It also 707 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:43,560 Speaker 1: designed a new type of powder to work with this process. 708 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:47,640 Speaker 1: It's what we would now call toner, dry particles of 709 00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:52,000 Speaker 1: ink that would stick to surfaces. These days, they are 710 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:56,360 Speaker 1: small plastic particles and they uh they are attached to 711 00:43:56,400 --> 00:44:00,280 Speaker 1: little carrier particles. The combination of toner and carrier particles 712 00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:05,080 Speaker 1: together are called developer, So you have the developer stuff 713 00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:09,759 Speaker 1: that sticks to the the elements that are used in 714 00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:15,760 Speaker 1: photo copiers. On January one, Halloyd Corporation and BETTEL signed 715 00:44:15,760 --> 00:44:19,239 Speaker 1: an agreement giving Halloyd the right to use this process 716 00:44:19,239 --> 00:44:23,600 Speaker 1: and its products. This was despite Halloyd's relatively modest financial 717 00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:26,600 Speaker 1: performance over the last several years. Bettel could have chosen 718 00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:30,239 Speaker 1: to partner with somebody else, but it turns out that 719 00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:35,520 Speaker 1: that organization was worried that if someone other than Halloyd 720 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:39,600 Speaker 1: Corporation took over this process, it might just sit on 721 00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:42,360 Speaker 1: a shelf somewhere no one would actually do anything useful. 722 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:44,960 Speaker 1: They buy it without actually making use of it. But 723 00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:48,319 Speaker 1: they were pretty confident in Halloyd Corporation was going to 724 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:52,480 Speaker 1: use this process, which is what BTEL really wanted because 725 00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:55,200 Speaker 1: Hallowyd Corporation needed to do something or else it wasn't 726 00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:58,759 Speaker 1: going to be competitive in the market much longer. One 727 00:44:58,800 --> 00:45:01,200 Speaker 1: of the first things that the two parties agreed upon 728 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:03,799 Speaker 1: was that they needed a new name for the process. 729 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:08,920 Speaker 1: Carlson had called it electro photography, but neither Btel researchers 730 00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:12,920 Speaker 1: nor Halloid employees really felt that that name worked very well. 731 00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:17,759 Speaker 1: So Betel suggested a new word, zerography x E r 732 00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:21,279 Speaker 1: O g r A p h y. This was a 733 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:24,960 Speaker 1: suggestion from a classical language professor over at Ohio State, 734 00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:29,279 Speaker 1: and it combined two words from Greek, the word for 735 00:45:29,360 --> 00:45:35,160 Speaker 1: dry and the word for writing zerography. In nine the 736 00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:39,120 Speaker 1: Halloid company introduced a new product called the Xerox copier. 737 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:43,040 Speaker 1: The first mention of xerox this, by the way, was 738 00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:46,880 Speaker 1: capital X e r O capital x, so you had 739 00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:51,160 Speaker 1: capital x is on either side. The device was largely manual. 740 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:53,600 Speaker 1: It was not an automatic copier, so you had to 741 00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:55,560 Speaker 1: do a lot of this work by hand, and it 742 00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:58,840 Speaker 1: was more than a little challenging to operate by someone 743 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:02,359 Speaker 1: who wasn't familiar with the technology. Still, it was more 744 00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:06,360 Speaker 1: efficient to produce copies using it than to hand type 745 00:46:06,880 --> 00:46:09,959 Speaker 1: the documents. So despite the fact it was a little 746 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,200 Speaker 1: slow and a little cumbersome, had a high barrier to 747 00:46:12,239 --> 00:46:14,320 Speaker 1: intrigue because you had to learn how to use it. 748 00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:17,040 Speaker 1: It's still found a market. It was a modest market, 749 00:46:17,080 --> 00:46:20,680 Speaker 1: but it found one, and this would presage the new 750 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:26,080 Speaker 1: name of the company. In nineteen fifty four, see Peter 751 00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:30,440 Speaker 1: McCullough interviewed with the Halloyd Corporation. And McCulla had previously 752 00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:33,600 Speaker 1: been the vice president of sales at the Lehigh Navigation 753 00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:37,760 Speaker 1: Coal Sales Company, and he almost didn't take the gig 754 00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:41,480 Speaker 1: because he came into the corporate offices of Halloyd and 755 00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:47,200 Speaker 1: they seemed kind of rinky dink. According to McCulla the 756 00:46:47,239 --> 00:46:51,800 Speaker 1: shelf of the that was in the executive's office was 757 00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:55,600 Speaker 1: not really a shelf. It was repurposed crate, and he 758 00:46:55,719 --> 00:47:00,480 Speaker 1: just felt that any place where the executive furniture happened 759 00:47:00,520 --> 00:47:03,719 Speaker 1: to be made out of old crates probably wasn't on 760 00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:06,240 Speaker 1: the up and up, or at least not like poised 761 00:47:06,239 --> 00:47:11,080 Speaker 1: to take over the world. However, Joe Wilson could be 762 00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:13,800 Speaker 1: a really convincing guy, and he talked a lot about 763 00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:18,400 Speaker 1: his belief and innovation and their desire to grow, and 764 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:21,400 Speaker 1: he was able to convince McCullough to join. Now, McCullough 765 00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:23,799 Speaker 1: would later come one of the become one of the 766 00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:27,719 Speaker 1: iconic leaders of Xerox. So he'll be more important. In 767 00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:33,000 Speaker 1: our part two episode in the company introduced a new 768 00:47:33,040 --> 00:47:37,279 Speaker 1: technology called copy flow, and that's flow spelled f l 769 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:40,760 Speaker 1: O kiss magrats. It was an automated zero graphic machine 770 00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:44,279 Speaker 1: that would create enlarged prints on a continuous roll of 771 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:48,239 Speaker 1: photographic paper, and it would pull those prints from microfilm 772 00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:51,640 Speaker 1: original So you get some microfilm, it's got images on it. 773 00:47:51,719 --> 00:47:54,680 Speaker 1: You feed the microfilm into the machine. This would then 774 00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:57,320 Speaker 1: be able to produce enlarged copies, which would make it 775 00:47:57,400 --> 00:47:59,800 Speaker 1: much easier to create multiple copies of the same document 776 00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:03,880 Speaker 1: and simultaneously cut down on document storage space because you 777 00:48:03,880 --> 00:48:06,399 Speaker 1: could just store the originals as microfilm, you didn't need 778 00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:10,440 Speaker 1: to have big, bulky copies. The copy flow system eschewed 779 00:48:10,719 --> 00:48:14,480 Speaker 1: the plate that previous copiers had relied upon and introduced 780 00:48:14,480 --> 00:48:20,080 Speaker 1: a new component that would become incredibly important, the rotating drum. 781 00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:22,759 Speaker 1: And a rotating drum allowed for much faster copying and 782 00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:26,480 Speaker 1: became a standard piece of Xerox equipment in various copiers. 783 00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:29,200 Speaker 1: And I'll talk more about how those copiers actually work 784 00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:31,560 Speaker 1: in the next section of this episode, but before I 785 00:48:31,600 --> 00:48:33,920 Speaker 1: get there, I wanted to add a little bit more 786 00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:36,080 Speaker 1: about what was going on in the nineteen fifties and 787 00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:40,800 Speaker 1: early nineteen sixties. By nineteen fifty six, the zero Graphic 788 00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:45,360 Speaker 1: division of Halloyd was contributing about of all the revenue 789 00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:48,360 Speaker 1: for the company, and that percentage would grow over the 790 00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:51,640 Speaker 1: next couple of years. By nineteen fifty eight, Halloyd executives 791 00:48:51,640 --> 00:48:54,040 Speaker 1: saw the photo copied writing on the wall and the 792 00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:59,440 Speaker 1: company underwent a transformation and was renamed Halloyd Xerox in 793 00:48:59,560 --> 00:49:03,160 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty eight. It was in nineteen fifty nine that 794 00:49:03,200 --> 00:49:06,840 Speaker 1: the company introduced a flagship product that was a breakout success, 795 00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:10,680 Speaker 1: and that was the nine fourteen copier. It was called 796 00:49:10,719 --> 00:49:13,759 Speaker 1: the nine fourteen because it could handle paper sizes up 797 00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:17,920 Speaker 1: to nine inches by fourteen inches. The first copyers shipped 798 00:49:17,920 --> 00:49:21,360 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty and by nineteen sixty two the company 799 00:49:21,360 --> 00:49:24,760 Speaker 1: had sold ten thousand units, which was twice the number 800 00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:28,279 Speaker 1: they expected to sell. Plus they had a backlog of 801 00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:31,080 Speaker 1: orders that were coming in, so they were not being there. 802 00:49:31,200 --> 00:49:34,120 Speaker 1: They could not make them fast enough, which is a 803 00:49:34,160 --> 00:49:38,360 Speaker 1: great problem to have. The success translated into dalla dalla bills, y'all. 804 00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:41,560 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty nine, the company's income was about two 805 00:49:41,600 --> 00:49:46,359 Speaker 1: million dollars. Nineteen sixty the revenue would grow to two 806 00:49:46,440 --> 00:49:49,960 Speaker 1: point six million. In nineteen sixty one, it was five 807 00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:54,120 Speaker 1: point three million. That's also the year Halloyd Xerox dropped 808 00:49:54,120 --> 00:49:57,600 Speaker 1: Halloyd from its name and just became Xerox nineteen sixty one, 809 00:49:58,000 --> 00:50:01,120 Speaker 1: and by nineteen sixty two income had re thirteen point 810 00:50:01,320 --> 00:50:05,120 Speaker 1: nine million. By nineteen sixty three and it hit twenty 811 00:50:05,200 --> 00:50:09,400 Speaker 1: two point six million, So it's effectively almost doubling every year. 812 00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:13,440 Speaker 1: In some cases more than doubling. The company saw incredible benefits, 813 00:50:13,440 --> 00:50:16,560 Speaker 1: as Joe Wilson's argument that success would come by pursuing 814 00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:21,279 Speaker 1: innovation seemed absolutely justified. Now, when we get back, I'm 815 00:50:21,320 --> 00:50:24,440 Speaker 1: going to tell you how photo copiers actually work, and 816 00:50:24,600 --> 00:50:26,960 Speaker 1: I'm gonna be referring to an article that's on a 817 00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:29,440 Speaker 1: little website called how Stuff Works, so you can actually 818 00:50:29,480 --> 00:50:32,400 Speaker 1: follow along if you like, in your in your guide books. 819 00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:35,040 Speaker 1: But for now, let's take a quick break to thank 820 00:50:35,080 --> 00:50:44,120 Speaker 1: our sponsor. But in Part two will take a look 821 00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:45,960 Speaker 1: at how Xerox has made a huge impact on the 822 00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:48,239 Speaker 1: way we interact with technology today, and a lot of 823 00:50:48,239 --> 00:50:51,440 Speaker 1: it has nothing to do with photo copiers. But Xerox 824 00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:55,880 Speaker 1: is known for photo copiers so much so that the 825 00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:58,719 Speaker 1: company has had to fight over the years a few 826 00:50:58,760 --> 00:51:01,080 Speaker 1: times they think of eventually had to give it up. 827 00:51:01,239 --> 00:51:04,480 Speaker 1: The fact that people would refer to making a photo 828 00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:08,560 Speaker 1: copy as xeroxing something. There's the danger of this is 829 00:51:08,560 --> 00:51:10,759 Speaker 1: that they named their company after a word they had 830 00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:15,000 Speaker 1: already invented based on a Greek word for dry writing, 831 00:51:15,080 --> 00:51:20,880 Speaker 1: right zerography zerography, and then calling it xerox Uh. So 832 00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:23,360 Speaker 1: people began to just refer to the act of photo 833 00:51:23,360 --> 00:51:26,680 Speaker 1: copying as xeroxing, and it became one of those terms 834 00:51:26,680 --> 00:51:32,600 Speaker 1: like Kleenex or jello, where the use of it is 835 00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:37,439 Speaker 1: so universal that the trademark is no longer really enforceable, 836 00:51:37,680 --> 00:51:42,160 Speaker 1: not specifically in those instances, like you couldn't go out 837 00:51:42,239 --> 00:51:44,640 Speaker 1: and make a photo copier and call it a xerox 838 00:51:44,680 --> 00:51:47,319 Speaker 1: machine and have that printed on the side if you're 839 00:51:47,360 --> 00:51:51,440 Speaker 1: not xerox, but you could call the act xeroxing, and 840 00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:54,200 Speaker 1: no one's going to lift an eye because or an eyebrow. Rather, 841 00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:59,439 Speaker 1: because it was universal, everyone called it xeroxing. But how's 842 00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:02,359 Speaker 1: it actually were? And this is where we talk about 843 00:52:02,520 --> 00:52:06,040 Speaker 1: photo connectivity and semiconductors and that kind of thing. So 844 00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:10,400 Speaker 1: you start with a drum. This drum is coded with 845 00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:15,360 Speaker 1: a semiconductor material. Technically it tends to be selenium these days, 846 00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:18,360 Speaker 1: just like they started to make that change when the 847 00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:23,840 Speaker 1: Hallowy Corporation got involved. Selenium very useful material, semiconductor material. 848 00:52:24,960 --> 00:52:32,320 Speaker 1: By exposing selenium to bright light, you end up building 849 00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:36,160 Speaker 1: up a a charge, a strong positive charge on the 850 00:52:36,160 --> 00:52:39,240 Speaker 1: surface of the selenium. It actually separates out the charge 851 00:52:39,560 --> 00:52:41,960 Speaker 1: on the inner side of the drum, you have a 852 00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:43,880 Speaker 1: negative charge. On the outer side of the drum, you 853 00:52:43,880 --> 00:52:47,960 Speaker 1: have a positive charge. Uh. Actually that it's not even 854 00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:50,360 Speaker 1: with the light that's actually just passing the drum next 855 00:52:50,400 --> 00:52:53,800 Speaker 1: to a high voltage wire. It's called a corona wire. 856 00:52:54,200 --> 00:52:57,640 Speaker 1: So you have these corona wires that charge up the 857 00:52:57,760 --> 00:53:02,400 Speaker 1: drum by having electric current running through high voltage electric 858 00:53:02,440 --> 00:53:06,040 Speaker 1: current running through him, this charge separates out. As I said, 859 00:53:06,480 --> 00:53:10,799 Speaker 1: the light actually ends up making that charge change. It 860 00:53:10,880 --> 00:53:15,640 Speaker 1: creates an electric conductivity wherever the light hits the drum. 861 00:53:15,680 --> 00:53:19,080 Speaker 1: So when the light hits the drum, it allows electric 862 00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:23,719 Speaker 1: current to pass through. Those charges that separated out are 863 00:53:23,800 --> 00:53:28,080 Speaker 1: reconciled and you go back to a neutral charge on 864 00:53:28,120 --> 00:53:31,640 Speaker 1: the drum. Any place where the light hits the drum 865 00:53:31,840 --> 00:53:34,359 Speaker 1: you get a neutral charge. Any place where the light 866 00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:37,400 Speaker 1: doesn't hit the drum, you still have that positive charge. 867 00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:43,160 Speaker 1: So photocopiers, you get your image that you want a photocopy. 868 00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:47,680 Speaker 1: Let's say it's a picture of a cute dog, and 869 00:53:47,760 --> 00:53:50,200 Speaker 1: let's give this dog a name. We'll call him Tibalt. 870 00:53:50,520 --> 00:53:52,880 Speaker 1: So you've got a picture of a cute dog named 871 00:53:52,880 --> 00:53:57,040 Speaker 1: Tibolt and he's adorable, and everyone wants a copy of 872 00:53:57,080 --> 00:53:59,960 Speaker 1: a picture of acute dog named Tibolt. How are you 873 00:54:00,080 --> 00:54:02,359 Speaker 1: gonna make copies of it? Well, you go to your 874 00:54:02,360 --> 00:54:05,560 Speaker 1: photo copy here and you slap that photo down on 875 00:54:06,040 --> 00:54:10,400 Speaker 1: the scanner of the photo copier. What then happens is 876 00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:14,239 Speaker 1: when you hit start a bright light that comes from 877 00:54:14,320 --> 00:54:16,880 Speaker 1: an incandescent or fluorescent lamp. It doesn't have to be 878 00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:21,040 Speaker 1: of any special frequency apart from you don't want something 879 00:54:21,080 --> 00:54:23,839 Speaker 1: like red or infrared light. That's not gonna be powerful enough, 880 00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:28,120 Speaker 1: but anything in the visible spectrum is fine outside of red. 881 00:54:29,000 --> 00:54:31,760 Speaker 1: You have this bright light hit the picture of Tibolt, 882 00:54:32,840 --> 00:54:38,720 Speaker 1: and it sends uh a reflection of that image down 883 00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:45,040 Speaker 1: to hit this rotating drum that has previously been charged 884 00:54:45,440 --> 00:54:48,040 Speaker 1: with an electro stat charge thanks to those two corona 885 00:54:48,320 --> 00:54:54,000 Speaker 1: wires that were high voltage so this drum, before any 886 00:54:54,080 --> 00:54:56,840 Speaker 1: light hits it, has got a positive charge on its surface. 887 00:54:58,120 --> 00:55:02,839 Speaker 1: The any place on the image that is bright as 888 00:55:02,960 --> 00:55:09,200 Speaker 1: white will reflect the light well down into the photocopier. 889 00:55:09,280 --> 00:55:12,160 Speaker 1: It goes through a lens, hits another mirror, and then 890 00:55:12,200 --> 00:55:15,879 Speaker 1: it hits the drum in the right location. As that 891 00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:21,759 Speaker 1: light scans the original image, anything that's dark absorbs light 892 00:55:21,960 --> 00:55:24,880 Speaker 1: more than reflects it, and so it's not reflecting nearly 893 00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:29,399 Speaker 1: as much light down through this system. So those are 894 00:55:29,440 --> 00:55:34,040 Speaker 1: areas of the drum that are not receiving light. Those 895 00:55:34,080 --> 00:55:39,759 Speaker 1: areas of the drum remain positively charged. So anything that 896 00:55:39,800 --> 00:55:43,080 Speaker 1: the light has touched has been neutralized, but the rest 897 00:55:43,120 --> 00:55:47,719 Speaker 1: of that drum is still positively charged. As the drum rotates, 898 00:55:48,040 --> 00:55:52,040 Speaker 1: it then comes in contact with toner, which is negatively charged. 899 00:55:52,960 --> 00:55:56,720 Speaker 1: And we know through Coolum's law that positive and negative 900 00:55:56,800 --> 00:56:02,320 Speaker 1: charges attract one another, right like charges repel opposite charges 901 00:56:02,360 --> 00:56:06,280 Speaker 1: the tract. So you have these sections on the drum 902 00:56:06,480 --> 00:56:11,280 Speaker 1: that are positively charged because the light never touched it, 903 00:56:11,280 --> 00:56:15,640 Speaker 1: it represents the dark spots on that original image. They 904 00:56:15,719 --> 00:56:20,080 Speaker 1: end up attracting toner. So the drum gets toner on it. 905 00:56:21,120 --> 00:56:24,000 Speaker 1: As the drum continues to rotate, it comes in contact 906 00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:27,640 Speaker 1: with a sheet of paper that has also been charged 907 00:56:27,719 --> 00:56:31,680 Speaker 1: by passing close to one of these corona wires. So 908 00:56:32,280 --> 00:56:36,400 Speaker 1: you have a very strong positive charge on that side 909 00:56:36,480 --> 00:56:39,160 Speaker 1: of the piece of paper that's coming into contact with 910 00:56:39,200 --> 00:56:42,879 Speaker 1: the drum. Those particles that are on the drum are 911 00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:46,680 Speaker 1: still negatively charged. If the charge on the piece of 912 00:56:46,719 --> 00:56:49,560 Speaker 1: paper is the positive charge on the piece of paper 913 00:56:49,640 --> 00:56:52,080 Speaker 1: is greater than the one that's on the drum, it 914 00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:55,720 Speaker 1: pulls that toner away from the drum and onto the paper. 915 00:56:56,120 --> 00:56:59,640 Speaker 1: So essentially, whoever has the strongest electric charge winds. It's 916 00:56:59,680 --> 00:57:03,320 Speaker 1: like a hug of war. So think of the positive 917 00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:06,279 Speaker 1: charge on the drum as one side of a tug 918 00:57:06,280 --> 00:57:08,840 Speaker 1: of war. The positive charge on the piece of paper 919 00:57:08,960 --> 00:57:11,040 Speaker 1: is the other side of the tug of war. And 920 00:57:11,120 --> 00:57:15,799 Speaker 1: on the drum side you've got Rick Moranis, and on 921 00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:20,960 Speaker 1: the the paper side, you've got Dwayne the Rock Johnson. 922 00:57:22,480 --> 00:57:25,080 Speaker 1: Dwayne the Rock Johnson's about to get coded in toner 923 00:57:25,200 --> 00:57:28,520 Speaker 1: because he's gonna pull way harder than Rick Moranis is. 924 00:57:29,320 --> 00:57:32,120 Speaker 1: So the toner moves to the piece of paper that 925 00:57:32,200 --> 00:57:35,200 Speaker 1: has the strong positive charge to it, which then passes 926 00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:38,320 Speaker 1: through a pair of rollers that are heated to fuse 927 00:57:38,880 --> 00:57:42,440 Speaker 1: the toner to the paper. This is what finalizes that image. 928 00:57:42,600 --> 00:57:47,280 Speaker 1: It's what makes you get a nice dry copy at 929 00:57:47,320 --> 00:57:48,720 Speaker 1: the end of it. You don't have to worry about 930 00:57:48,760 --> 00:57:52,160 Speaker 1: smearing ink or anything like that because it's all dried 931 00:57:52,320 --> 00:57:55,400 Speaker 1: by the time it comes out. And then you have 932 00:57:55,720 --> 00:57:58,480 Speaker 1: a copy of your original image. All the parts that 933 00:57:58,520 --> 00:58:01,240 Speaker 1: were dark, how of the ton or attached to it. 934 00:58:01,280 --> 00:58:03,360 Speaker 1: All the parts that were light don't have any ton 935 00:58:03,440 --> 00:58:08,400 Speaker 1: or attached to it because again those light sections were 936 00:58:08,480 --> 00:58:12,280 Speaker 1: neutralized on that rotating drum. This is all because of 937 00:58:12,280 --> 00:58:16,520 Speaker 1: that photo conductivity of selenium and the semiconductor nature. So 938 00:58:16,560 --> 00:58:19,960 Speaker 1: it's pretty cool to think that by playing with positive 939 00:58:19,960 --> 00:58:24,480 Speaker 1: and negative electrical charges, you can attract ton or to 940 00:58:24,600 --> 00:58:27,440 Speaker 1: a drum and then subsequently to a piece of paper, 941 00:58:27,760 --> 00:58:31,120 Speaker 1: but only in the parts that are important to you 942 00:58:31,920 --> 00:58:34,760 Speaker 1: for making your copy. Now, this is the basis of 943 00:58:34,800 --> 00:58:38,360 Speaker 1: those rotating drum copiers. Not all copiers use rotating drums 944 00:58:38,400 --> 00:58:42,040 Speaker 1: summer belt system as opposed to a drum system, but 945 00:58:42,680 --> 00:58:45,280 Speaker 1: a lot of those early Xerox machines in fact used 946 00:58:45,320 --> 00:58:47,800 Speaker 1: this rotating drum process. And part of the reason for 947 00:58:47,960 --> 00:58:51,520 Speaker 1: that is because it allows for rapid copying. In fact, 948 00:58:51,640 --> 00:58:54,320 Speaker 1: one of the copiers that Xerox would introduce in the 949 00:58:54,320 --> 00:58:58,600 Speaker 1: early sixties was called I Believed, and the reason was 950 00:58:58,680 --> 00:59:01,280 Speaker 1: is it could do twenty four hundred copies in an hour, 951 00:59:01,440 --> 00:59:06,400 Speaker 1: which at the time was spectacularly fast. Because I had 952 00:59:06,440 --> 00:59:09,320 Speaker 1: this continuous rotating drum system. You just had to make 953 00:59:09,320 --> 00:59:11,480 Speaker 1: sure you had enough paper to feed into it and 954 00:59:11,640 --> 00:59:15,760 Speaker 1: enough toner to last, and you can do that. Uh. 955 00:59:16,320 --> 00:59:18,960 Speaker 1: I think that it's a really clever way of using 956 00:59:19,840 --> 00:59:23,919 Speaker 1: physics to create a working product that ends up being 957 00:59:24,160 --> 00:59:27,440 Speaker 1: of huge value to anyone who needs to make copies 958 00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:31,160 Speaker 1: of stuff. And it's pretty neat to look into. If 959 00:59:31,200 --> 00:59:32,960 Speaker 1: you want to learn more about it, you can go 960 00:59:33,040 --> 00:59:36,479 Speaker 1: to house stuff works dot com. There's an article called 961 00:59:36,480 --> 00:59:40,880 Speaker 1: how photo copiers work and you can read it. It's great. 962 00:59:40,920 --> 00:59:42,439 Speaker 1: I've got it right in front of me, right here. 963 00:59:42,880 --> 00:59:47,200 Speaker 1: It's a really helpful piece of information if you want 964 00:59:47,240 --> 00:59:50,280 Speaker 1: to see in more detail, and it even has illustrations 965 00:59:50,280 --> 00:59:53,960 Speaker 1: and animations to show you what that process is like. 966 00:59:54,640 --> 00:59:56,840 Speaker 1: So I'm glad I had the opportunity to actually talk 967 00:59:56,880 --> 00:59:59,600 Speaker 1: about how that technology works in this episode, because sometimes 968 00:59:59,640 --> 01:00:01,840 Speaker 1: on text stuff we don't really get to talk about 969 01:00:01,920 --> 01:00:05,520 Speaker 1: tech stuff that much, not from how it works angle, 970 01:00:06,200 --> 01:00:08,960 Speaker 1: and this was a particularly interesting one. Now in our 971 01:00:09,000 --> 01:00:13,320 Speaker 1: next episode, we're gonna look at how Xerox evolved past 972 01:00:13,520 --> 01:00:17,520 Speaker 1: this initial approach. Obviously, they made a huge impact in 973 01:00:17,560 --> 01:00:20,640 Speaker 1: the business world with the advent of these copiers, and 974 01:00:20,640 --> 01:00:23,480 Speaker 1: we'll talk more about that too, about how Xerox grew 975 01:00:23,560 --> 01:00:27,240 Speaker 1: as a company. But I can't wait to go into 976 01:00:27,280 --> 01:00:30,400 Speaker 1: the next episode and talk about Xerox Park because that's 977 01:00:30,400 --> 01:00:34,959 Speaker 1: a really interesting organization that again contributed ideas that were 978 01:00:35,040 --> 01:00:39,480 Speaker 1: fundamentally important to the way we interact with technology today, 979 01:00:39,560 --> 01:00:41,720 Speaker 1: and we'll talk more about that in our next episode. 980 01:00:41,760 --> 01:00:44,040 Speaker 1: If you guys have any topics that you want me 981 01:00:44,080 --> 01:00:46,680 Speaker 1: to cover in future episodes, whether it's a company or 982 01:00:46,760 --> 01:00:49,840 Speaker 1: technology or a person. Maybe there's someone you want me 983 01:00:49,880 --> 01:00:53,280 Speaker 1: to interview, let me know. Send me a message. My 984 01:00:53,400 --> 01:00:56,640 Speaker 1: email addresses tech Stuff at how stuff works dot com. 985 01:00:56,680 --> 01:00:59,120 Speaker 1: You can also drop me a line on Facebook or Twitter. 986 01:00:59,200 --> 01:01:00,880 Speaker 1: The handle of both of the is this tech Stuff 987 01:01:01,080 --> 01:01:04,760 Speaker 1: hs W. And remember you can watch me record these 988 01:01:04,800 --> 01:01:08,520 Speaker 1: episodes live at Twitch dot tv slash tech Stuff. I 989 01:01:08,560 --> 01:01:10,800 Speaker 1: also chat with people who are in the chat room 990 01:01:10,920 --> 01:01:14,360 Speaker 1: in between recording sessions, and we have a grand old 991 01:01:14,360 --> 01:01:18,440 Speaker 1: time talking about classic television series that only Jonathan remembers. 992 01:01:19,000 --> 01:01:21,480 Speaker 1: So if you want to listen to an old man 993 01:01:21,640 --> 01:01:26,320 Speaker 1: talk about bad sitcoms, or you know, watch me talk 994 01:01:26,360 --> 01:01:30,240 Speaker 1: about tech live, that's probably a more attractive prospect. Go 995 01:01:30,320 --> 01:01:33,080 Speaker 1: to twitch dot tv slash tech stuff and I'll talk 996 01:01:33,120 --> 01:01:41,320 Speaker 1: to you again really soon for more on this and 997 01:01:41,400 --> 01:01:43,960 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics. Because at house staff works dot 998 01:01:43,960 --> 01:01:53,960 Speaker 1: com