It is extremely important for laser printers to have a laser system that is precise when the laser receives the document information; the assembly uses a laser, movable mirror and lens to create tiny dots that make up the text and images. As technology has developed it has become increasingly important that these laser printers turn out documents at high speeds, with the fastest colour laser printer producing over 100 pages per minute. However there is a new competitor, lithography in some commercial applications are competing with the laser printer for very high speed printing used for mass mailings and personalized documents.
The laser printer was invented in 1969 by Xerox researcher Gary Starkweather. Starkweather created a new way of printing by disabling the imagery system found in the xerographic copier and incorporated a spinning drum with 8 mirrored sides and a laser. The way it works is the light from the laser bounces off the mirror sides of the drum onto the paper transferring the data from the document that has been sent to the machine.
The first laser printer, Xerox Star 8010 was released in 1981, designed for office use.