The invention of the inkjet printer was as much a happy accident as it was a technological breakthrough. Back in the 1970s, engineers were working on ways to improve printing technology, but it wasn’t until one surprising moment that the inkjet printer was truly born.

The Hot Iron Inspiration

The story begins with a Canon engineer in Japan who was working on a new type of printer. One day, while heating a soldering iron, he accidentally touched the hot iron to his ink-filled pen. To his surprise, the heat caused a small drop of ink to shoot out of the pen and land neatly on the paper below. It was an unexpected reaction, but one that sparked an idea: what if ink could be precisely heated and ejected onto paper to create an image?

This was the eureka moment that led to the development of the thermal inkjet printer. Canon engineers realized they could use tiny nozzles to shoot out heated drops of ink onto paper, creating a highly detailed print. This revolutionary idea gave rise to the Bubble Jet printer, Canon’s first inkjet printer, in 1979.

The Piezoelectric Push

At the same time, engineers at Epson were working on their own version of the inkjet printer using a slightly different process called piezoelectricity. Instead of heat, this process used tiny crystals that changed shape when an electric current was applied. The crystals would push the ink through nozzles, resulting in another way to print ink on paper with remarkable precision.

Inkjet Goes Mainstream

By the 1980s, both Canon and Epson had perfected their respective inkjet printing methods, and inkjet printers were ready for the mass market. These new printers were faster, quieter, and far more versatile than traditional dot matrix printers, making them a hit in homes and offices alike.

What made inkjet printers especially popular was their ability to print in color. Unlike other printing technologies, inkjet printers could combine cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks to produce vibrant, full-color images, making them perfect for printing photos, artwork, and documents with high detail.

From Paper to 3D

Since their inception, inkjet printers have evolved dramatically. Today’s printers can print on a variety of materials—not just paper—and the inkjet technology has even been adapted for use in 3D printing.