Wanted: History of Laser Printer

The latest photonics pursuit on BountyWest.com offers $10,000 for documentation dated before July 7, 1977, describing a device that uses a laser to create alphanumeric characters with smooth edges.

Early laser printers produced characters comprising a multitude of dots, all the same size. The resulting letters did not have smooth edges.The challenge is to find evidence of a device or a publication that describes a laser-printer type of device that uses spots of different sizes to generate smooth letters on a photoconductive photoreceptor or photoreceptive surface, such as film. The device could create the different spot sizes by varying the laser beam intensity or the exposure time.

For more information on requirements and exclusions, visit www.BountyQuest.com and search for Bounty No. 1096.