Xerox was founded in 1906 in Rochester, New York, as Haloid. It manufactured photographic paper and equipment. In 1938,
Chester Carlson, a physicist working independently, invented a process for printing images using an electrically charged photoconductor-coated metal plate and dry powder "toner". However, it would take more than 20 years of refinement before the first automated machine to make copies was commercialized, using a document feeder, scanning light, and a
rotating drum.
Joseph C. Wilson, credited as the "founder of Xerox", took over Haloid from his father. He saw the promise of Carlson's invention and, in 1946, signed an agreement to develop it as a commercial product. Wilson remained as President/CEO of Xerox until 1967 and served as chairman until his death in 1971. Looking for a term to differentiate its new system, Haloid hired a Greek scholar at
Ohio State University and coined the term
xerography from two Greek roots meaning "dry writing". Haloid changed its name to Haloid Xerox in 1958 and then Xerox in 1961. The 914, the first plain paper
photocopier, was developed by
Carlson and
John H. Dessauer; it was so popular that by the end of 1961 Xerox had almost $60 million in revenue. The product was sold by an innovative ad campaign showing that even monkeys could make copies at the touch of a button – simplicity would become the foundation of Xerox products and user interfaces. Revenues leaped to over $500 million by 1965.
Xeronic Computer Printer In 1956, Haloid formed a joint venture in the UK with
Rank Organisation whose Rank Precision Industries subsidiary was charged with anglicising the US products. Rank's Precision Industries went on to develop the Xeronic computer printer and Rank Data Systems was set up to bring the product to market. It used
cathode-ray tubes to generate the characters and forms that could be overlaid from
microfilm images. Initially, it planned for the
Ferranti and AEI computer companies to sell the Xeronic as an on-line peripheral, but due to interface problems, Rank switched to a magnetic tape off-line technique. In 1962, Lyons Computers placed an order for use with its
LEO III computer, and the printer was delivered in 1964. It printed 2,888 lines per minute, slower than the target of 5,000 lpm.
1960s In the 1960s, Xerox held a dominant position in the
photocopier market. In 1960, a xerography research facility called the Wilson Center for Research and Technology was opened in
Webster, New York. In 1961, the company changed its name to Xerox. Xerox common stock (XRX) was listed on the
New York Stock Exchange in 1961 and on the
Chicago Stock Exchange in 1990. In 1963, Xerox introduced the Xerox 813, the first desktop plain-paper copier, realizing Carlson's vision of a copier that could fit on anyone's office desk. Ten years later, in 1973, a basic, analogue, color copier, based on the 914, followed. The 914 itself was gradually sped up to become the 420 and 720. The 813 was similarly developed into the 330 and 660 products and, eventually, also the 740 desktop microfiche printer. Xerox's first foray into duplicating, as distinct from copying, was with the Xerox 2400, introduced in 1966. The model number denoted the number of prints produced in an hour. Although not as fast as
offset printing, this machine introduced the industry's first automatic document feeder, paper slitter and perforator, and collator (sorter). This product was soon sped up by fifty percent to become the Xerox 3600 Duplicator. Meanwhile, a small lab team was borrowing copiers and modifying them. The lab was developing what it called long distance xerography (LDX) to connect a modified 813 copier to a CRT based scanner using a special service (TELPAK) of the public telephone network, so that a document scanned on one machine would print out on the other. The LDX system was introduced in 1964, followed in 1966 by the Magnafax Telecopier, a much smaller, slower and less expensive version that acoustically coupled to a desk phone. However,
fax machines would not become a truly mainstream device until the 1980s. In 1968,
C. Peter McColough, a longtime executive of Haloid and Xerox, became Xerox's CEO. The same year, the company consolidated its headquarters at Xerox Square in downtown
Rochester, New York, with its 30-story
Xerox Tower. Xerox embarked on a series of acquisitions. It purchased
University Microfilms International in 1962, Electro-Optical Systems in 1963, which it renamed the Xerox Data Systems (XDS) division and which produced the
Sigma line and its successor XDS 5xx series of
mainframe computers in the 1960s and 1970s. Xerox sold XDS to
Honeywell in 1975. File:Xerox Tower.JPG|
Xerox Tower in
Rochester, New York, served as headquarters from 1968 to 1969. File:Xeroxheadquarters.jpg|
Stamford, Connecticut, served as headquarters from 1969 to 2007. File:Xerox Henrietta facility.JPG|Former manufacturing facility in
Henrietta, New York, constructed in the 1960s and sold to
Harris RF Communications in 2010 File:XeroxTower-DLighting.jpg|Xerox Canada Head Office at
North American Life Centre (Xerox Tower),
Toronto,
Ontario File:XeroxTrainingCenter2.jpg|Xerox Training Center
1970s Archie McCardell was named president of the company in 1971. During his tenure, Xerox introduced the Xerox 6500, its first
color copier. During McCardell's reign at Xerox, the company announced record
revenues,
earnings and
profits in 1973, 1974, and 1975. John Carrol became a backer, later spreading the company throughout North America. In the mid-1970s, Xerox introduced the Xerox 9200 Duplicating System. Originally designed to be sold to print shops to increase their productivity, it was twice a fast as the 3600 duplicator at two impressions per second (7200 per hour). It was followed by the 9400, which did auto-duplexing, and then by the 9500, which was which added variable zoom reduction and electronic lightness/darkness control. In a 1975
Super Bowl commercial for the 9200, Xerox debuted an advertising campaign featuring Brother Dominic, a monk who used the 9200 system to save decades of manual copying. Before it was aired, there was some concern that the commercial would be denounced as blasphemous. However, when the commercial was screened for the Archbishop of New York, he found it amusing and gave it his blessing. Dominic, portrayed by
Jack Eagle, became the face of Xerox into the 1980s. The 6500 color copier was introduced in May 1973. Following these years of record profits, in 1975, Xerox resolved an anti-trust suit with the United States
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which at the time was under the direction of
Frederic M. Scherer. The Xerox
consent decree resulted in the forced licensing of the company's entire
patent portfolio, mainly to Japanese competitors. Within four years of the consent decree, Xerox's share of the U.S.
copier market dropped from nearly 100% to less than 14%. In 1979, Xerox purchased Western Union International (WUI) as the basis for its proposed
Xerox Telecommunications Network (XTEN) for local-loop communications. However, after three years, in 1982, the company decided the idea was a mistake and sold its assets to
MCI at a loss.
1980s David T. Kearns, a Xerox executive since 1971, took over as CEO in 1982. The company was revived in the 1980s and 1990s, through improvement in quality design and realignment of its product line. Attempting to expand beyond copiers, in 1981 Xerox introduced a line of electronic memory typewriters, the
Memorywriter, which gained 20% market share, mostly at the expense of IBM. In 1983, Xerox bought
Crum & Forster, an insurance company, and formed Xerox Financial Services (XFS) in 1984. In 1985, Xerox sold all of its publishing subsidiaries including University Microfilms and R. R. Bowker. In 1989, Xerox won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Business Products and Systems.
1990s In 1990,
Paul Allaire, a Xerox executive since 1966, succeeded David Kearns, who had reached mandatory retirement age. Allaire disentangled Xerox from the financial services industry. In April 1999, Allaire was succeeded by
Richard Thoman, who had been brought in from
IBM in 1997 as president. The first "outsider" to head Xerox, Thoman resigned in 2000.
2000s After Thoman's resignation, Allaire again resumed the position of CEO and served until the appointment of
Anne M. Mulcahy, another long-term Xerox executive. Xerox's turnaround was largely led by Mulcahy, who was appointed president in May 2000, CEO in August 2001 and chairman in January 2002. She launched an aggressive turnaround plan that returned Xerox to full-year profitability by the end of 2002, along with decreasing debt, increasing cash, and continuing to invest in research and development. In 2000, Xerox acquired
Tektronix color printing and imaging division in Wilsonville, Oregon, for US$925 million. This led to the current
Xerox Phaser line of products as well as Xerox
solid ink printing technology. In September 2004, Xerox celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Xerox 914. More than 200,000 units were made around the world between 1959 and 1976, the year production of the 914 was stopped. Today, the 914 is part of
American history as an artifact in the
Smithsonian Institution. In November 2006, Xerox completed the acquisition of XMPie. XMPie, a provider of software for cross-media, variable data one-to-one marketing, was the first acquisition of Xerox to remain independent entity, as a Xerox company and not a division, and to this day is led by its original founder Jacob Aizikowitz. Xerox headquarters moved from
Stamford, Connecticut, to Norwalk in October 2007. In October 2008, Xerox Canada was named one of
Greater Toronto's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada, which was announced by the
Toronto Star newspaper. On July 1, 2009,
Ursula Burns succeeded Anne Mulcahy as CEO of Xerox. Burns was the first
African American woman to head a company of that size. On September 28, 2009, Xerox announced the intended acquisition of
Affiliated Computer Services, a services and
outsourcing company, for $6.4 billion. The acquisition was completed in February 2010. Xerox said it paid 4.935 Xerox shares and $18.60 cash for each share of ACS, totaling $6.4 billion, or $63.11 a share for the company.
2010s In May 2011, Xerox acquired NewField IT for an undisclosed sum. In December 2013, Xerox sold its Wilsonville, Oregon
solid ink product design, engineering and chemistry group and related assets previously acquired from
Tektronix to
3D Systems for $32.5 million in cash. In December 2014, Xerox sold the IT outsourcing business it had acquired in 2009 from
Affiliated Computer Services to
Atos for $1.05 billion. This move was taken due to the relatively slow growth of this business relative to some other Xerox units. In June, the company announced that the document management business would retain the name Xerox and the new business services company would be named
Conduent. It also announced that
Ashok Vemuri would serve as Conduent's CEO and that Icahn would control three seats on the new company's board. It continued to seek a CEO for Xerox; in May, Burns announced her intention to step down as CEO but continue as chairman of the document management business. In June 2016, the company announced that
Jeff Jacobson would become the new CEO following the completion of the company's planned separation. This became effective in January 2017. On January 31, 2018, Xerox announced that
Fujifilm had agreed to acquire a 50.1% controlling stake in the company for US$6.1 billion, which was to be combined into their existing joint venture
Fuji Xerox (having a value of $18 billion post-acquisition). On May 1, 2018, it was announced that chairman Robert Keegan and CEO Jeff Jacobson and four other directors would resign as part of a deal with investors
Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who had mounted a proxy fight to oppose the Fujifilm deal. On May 4, Xerox backed away from the deal after stipulations about ceasing litigation were not met. Icahn and Deason responded with an open letter to shareholders blaming the board and management. On May 13 a new deal was reached that additionally cancelled the Fujifilm transaction. In November 2019, Xerox began to pursue a
hostile takeover of PC and printer manufacturer
HP, declaring its intent to "engage directly" with shareholders after HP rejected two unsolicited bids for the company. Xerox stated in January 2020 that it would pursue the replacement of HP's board. HP criticized the proposed purchase as a "flawed value exchange" based on "overstated synergies", and instituted a
shareholder rights plan and other measures designed to quell the bid, which the company believed was being orchestrated by Icahn. On March 5, HP revealed that its board of directors had unanimously declined Xerox's $24 a share cash-and-stock offer. On March 13, Xerox revealed that it was putting its campaign to acquire HP on hold by postponing additional presentations, interviews with the press and meetings with HP shareholders. Xerox vice chairman and chief executive John Visentin cited the
COVID-19 pandemic as a main reason and said, "In light of the escalating Covid-19 pandemic, Xerox needs to prioritize health and safety of its employees, customers, partners and affiliates over and above all considerations, including its proposal to acquire HP." On March 31, 2020, Xerox canceled its $24 a share offer. In September 2020, Xerox opened its North Carolina Center of Excellence in Cary, North Carolina. The center includes the research and development operations, the 3-D printing lab, and th eXerox Digital eXperience IT organization. The acquisition was completed on July 2, 2025.
Digital printing The laser printer was invented in 1969 by Xerox researcher
Gary Starkweather by modifying a Xerox 7000 copier. Xerox management was afraid the product version of Starkweather's invention, which became the 9700, would negatively affect its copier business so the innovation sat in limbo until IBM launched the
3800 laser printer in 1976. The first commercial non-impact printer was the
Xerox 1200, introduced in 1973, based on the 3600 copier. It had an optical character generator designed by optical engineer Phil Chen. It was used in
mainframe computer environments for large-volume printing for business applications. Laser printing eventually became a multibillion-dollar business for Xerox. In the late 1970s, Xerox introduced the Xerox 350 color slide machine. This product allowed the customer to create digital word and graphic 35-millimetre slides. Many of the concepts used in today's photo editing programs were pioneered with this technology. In 1980, Xerox announced the 5700 laser printer, a much smaller version of its 9700, but with touch-screen capabilities and multiple media input (word processing disks, IBM magcards, etc.) and printer 'finishing' options. This product was allegedly never intended to make the commercial markets due to its development cost, but rather to show the innovation of Xerox. It took off with many customers, but was soon replaced with the smaller and lower cost
Xerox 2700 Distributed Electronic Printer offering in 1982.
Palo Alto Research Center In 1970, under company president
C. Peter McColough, Xerox opened the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, known as Xerox PARC. The facility developed many modern computing technologies such as the
graphical user interface (GUI),
laser printing,
WYSIWYG text editors, and
Ethernet. From these inventions, Xerox PARC created the
Xerox Alto in 1973, a small minicomputer similar to a modern
workstation or
personal computer. This machine can be considered the first true Personal Computer, given its versatile combination of a cathode-ray-type screen, mouse-type pointing device, and a QWERTY-type alphanumeric keyboard. But the Alto was never commercially sold, as Xerox itself could not see the sales potential of it. It was, however, installed in Xerox's own offices, worldwide and those of the US Government and military, who could see the potential. Within these sites the individual workstations were connected together by Xerox's own unique LAN, The Ethernet. Data was sent around this system of heavy, yellow, low loss coaxial cable using the packet data system. In addition, PARC also developed one of the earliest
internetworking protocol suites, the
PARC Universal Packet (PUP). In 1979, Steve Jobs made a deal with Xerox's venture capital division: He would let them invest US$1 million (equivalent to $ million in ) in exchange for a look at the technology they were working on. Jobs and the others saw the commercial potential of the
WIMP (Window, Icon, Menu, and Pointing device) system and redirected development of the
Apple Lisa to incorporate these technologies. Jobs is quoted as saying: "They just had no idea what they had." In 1980, Jobs invited several key PARC researchers to join his company so that they could fully develop and implement their ideas. In 1981, Xerox released a system similar to the Alto, the
Xerox Star. It was the first commercial system to incorporate technologies that have subsequently become commonplace in personal computers, such as a bitmapped display, window-based GUI, mouse,
Ethernet networking,
file servers,
print servers, and
e-mail. The Xerox Star and its successor the
Xerox Daybreak, despite their technological breakthroughs, did not sell well due to its high price, retailing at US$16,000 per unit (). A typical Xerox Star-based office, complete with network and printers, would have cost US$100,000 (). In the mid-1980s,
Apple considered buying Xerox; however, a deal was never reached. Apple instead bought rights to the Alto GUI and adapted it into a more affordable personal computer, aimed towards the business and education markets. The
Apple Macintosh was released in 1984, and it was the first personal computer to popularize the GUI and mouse among the public. In 2002, PARC was spun off into an independent wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox. ==Chief executives==