Toner cartridges have not always existed in neat little packs that are purchased from stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Office Depot, or Staples. Not too long ago in human history, printing was a very difficult, expensive, and time-consuming task; it was also one of the most important developments to happen to the democratic evolution of our culture. So what is the historical relevance of these little plastic packages that we put into our printers? Several articles are available on the web to help explain the history.
In ancient times, humans printed information onto cloth and used wood in the help of reproducing the ink. This was called woodblock printing. Cultures from all over the globe utilized this method of printing Chinese, Indians, Persians, and Europeans. Most of what humankind wrote about in those days was religious in nature; thus, woodblock printing helped to record some of our most sacred religious texts from these various cultures. Although variation existed, most information was put out using wood, cloth, or even clay tablets. Various types of inking and stamping were used to print the information onto the slates. To further help push the publication of mass production of writings, stencils were introduced so that they would not have to be written by hand over and over again.
Movable type came along in the early middle ages, invented by the Chinese. This revolutionized printing, when Johannes Gutenburg pioneered the printing press. Metal pieces allowed for a uniformity and efficiency previously unheard of in old methods of printing. These printing process are the direct precursor to our personal computer printers we use today. Toner cartridge articles help to shed some light on the subject of how ink and printing became modernized.
With the advent of computers, printing documents and information was an essential follow-up. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, printing technology like dot-matrix printing, laser printing, and inkjet printing became more commonplace. Personal printers became available for the consumer market, thus further redefining printing as we knew it. Today, a consumer can easily purchase a small printer for his or her house and afford toner cartridges to refill it once they run out. Great technological advances have clearly made this all possible.