The evolution of Printing

Most of us receive marketing calls from multiple companies in a day. Have you ever thought about how they ended up with your number in the first place?!  One of the most common sources is that small photocopying / printing shop at the end of the street, you visited to take a print or copy of some documents or reports. If you are thinking if this is even possible, read this article to know more.

Before we understand how this happens let us take a look at the brief history of printing and photocopying.

Printing

Printing is the process of etching or engraving or imprinting or reproducing some texts or images onto a material. The first printing dates back to before 220 AD in China where woodblock printing was used for designing clothes and from then on printing was developed and innovated in various countries. The movable type printing, printing press, rotary printing press, letterpress, gravure printing were a few of the innovations made in the early stages of printing. The first electronic printer EP-101 was released in 1968 by the Japanese company EPSON. People wanted faster printing which led to the creation of laser printers. With the rapid growth in e-mail usage and technology, around the 1990s printers started gaining popularity and people started using printing technologies for everyday uses like printing emails, reports and other documents. By 2010, 3D printing started gaining people’s attention and also many types of printers were introduced for different purposes like the barcode printer, receipt printer, dye-sublimation printers, plotters, etc. Over the years, printers have played a major role in serving various purposes, and have become an essential part of business, education and work. 

Photocopy

The photocopy is the process of copying or replicating data from one sheet of paper or a plastic film to another. Xerox, the company which is one of the largest sellers of printing infrastructure capitalized on this market need and placed their machines extensively across the globe giving direct access to people for usage. Folks in India nowadays say they’re stepping out to a Xerox shop rather than a photocopying shop (similar to how we Google our questions). The machines which are used for photocopying are called photocopiers. It all began with Chester Carlson, who invented the process of photocopying which he termed electrophotography. After working on it for years, he was contracted by Battelle Memorial Institute to test and develop the process. Later Haloid corporation (which later changed its name to Xerox Corporation) approached the Battelle institute to obtain a license to develop a machine based on this technology. Haloid corporation worked on it and made a new copier machine but they felt the term electrophotography wasn’t much recallable so they termed the process as Xerography and named the machines as Xerox machines. They also trademarked the term ‘Xerox’ in 1948. But people liked the term xeroxing so much that they started to call the process of photocopying xeroxing and this is why many people to date refer to it as xerox. And with time many companies introduced different models of photocopying machines (multi-colour) and digital printers.

Data Security

Data security is protecting and securing digital information from unauthorized or fraudulent sources. This will ensure that the digital data is safe from any kind of illegitimate or unapproved networks or users. Data security involves providing security to hardware, administrative devices, access controls, stored data, software applications, etc. Generally, it is done through technologies such as disk encryption, password usage, anti-virus, backups, data erasure, data resiliency, data masking, etc. These methods ensure our data is not accessible to others.

 

Personal data security is securing our personal data from unauthorized collection, usage or transfer. Personal data provides access to the individual’s personal, financial, health, organizational and or any other data he possesses or is a custodian of. An individual’s personal data is enough to access the data of the whole organization in many cases. Personal data should be secured from unauthorized access and misuse.  Since it is our personal data, we possess the right to give access to collect or store information related to us. But sometimes even without realizing we end up sharing our personal information with others. When our personal data is linked to other necessary data, it becomes easier for cyber-crimes to take place. Giving access to our personal data to a third person means risking all our privacy, information and assets. Safeguarding our own personal data is our responsibility and right as well. We must take utmost care in protecting our personal data.

Data usage at photocopying and printing outlets:

 

When you visit a shop near your house for printing or photocopying they have an opportunity to take an additional copy of the document without your knowledge or acknowledgement. The chances of this happening are very high. Telecommunication companies contact these service providers and pay them in return for such data. This data is used to make a comprehensive list of people along with their details. The data is then used to contact them for advertising and marketing purposes. We may think our numbers going out is not a big issue, but it doesn't end with a mere leak. It goes all the way to tracking information about your personal life and even your family members. Now with our Aadhar cards being linked to everything, we are at greater risk if our details are being exposed. The same applies to businesses too, as they handle their client's confidential data. 

Modern technology today has led to the invention of many machines which can transact with data security. Modern businesses are investing in such infrastructure which ensures that the customer’s information is protected and the job is conducted with no threat to data.

 

clictoprint is a print-on-demand service provider that offers highly secure digital printing services. You can place an order from anywhere and we can deliver the package at your doorstep all within 24 hours if you have placed an order to be delivered within Chennai. clictoprint’s infrastructure is highly automated, with minimal human intervention for quality control and packaging. The limited physical handling of documents helps to bring in stringent checks and controls. 

  

It is important to understand the seriousness of data leaks which may lead to financial, professional or personal losses. Many of them are still not aware of these risks that come up with printing in shops near us. It is important to have more awareness regarding this and choose the right service provider for printing all your reports and documents.

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