From Gutenberg to Dot-Com - Memorabilia, Machinery Reflect Document's History Electronic Document Systems Foundation Hosts Museum Focusing on Evolution of Printing, Publishing, and Document Industry at Xplor '99 in Los Angeles

TORRANCE, Calif., U.S.A. (Dec. 10, 1999)The Electronic Document Systems Foundation (EDSF) honored the evolution and innovation of the document industry and printing and publishing with a special museum display during the week-long Xplor '99 in Los Angeles. The EDSF Industry Museum provided a three-dimensional tour of document technology and history, and displayed the industry's progression--from early manual and mechanical production to automated electronic systems--through photos, memorabilia, and machinery, including a replica of a circa 1450 Gutenberg Printing Press.

The EDSF Museum featured over 200 photographs portraying the pioneers involved in the evolution of the industry, as well as retro industry machines and memorabilia items. The Gutenberg Printing Press replica, on loan from the International Printing Museum, demonstrated its capabilities to attendees by printing pages from the Bible. Also included in the historical presentation was a Bell & Howell inserter, circa 1935; a Böwe Systec, Inc. Model S22 pinless cutter, circa 1954; a 1989 Zero IPS Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Scanner, capable of reading 20,000 pages per hour, from Gunther International, Inc.; a pre-1950 vintage inserter and postage meter, Model A, from Pitney Bowes, Inc.; an original 1987 unwinder from Roll Systems, Inc.; and the first continuous array ink-jet printhead, circa 1975, from Scitex Digital Printing Mark Barbour, director and curator, International Printing Museum in Los Angeles, says we're in the midst of a second "Gutenberg Revolution" and that it's important to reflect on past industry achievements. "As we progress forward with great speed, we must remember that history is educational, teaching us the processes of invention and the effect of them in our world; and it is also inspirational, challenging us to again face the problems our world demands solutions for. There will be a day when the graphic communicators of the future look back to this Digital Revolution with similar wonderment and interest as we now look to Gutenberg," says Barbour.

Other displays in the EDSF Museum included a Xerox Corporation Model 914, the first automatic xerographic office copier from 1959, plus a pictorial display of Xerox's electronic document history starting with the launch of the Xerox 9700, one of the first products that helped launch the industry. The EDSF Museum also included displays from KPT, Inc. and Lytrod Software.

The EDSF Museum, in its third year, enables individuals to compare current document technology with the technology of the past, and also serves a valuable role as historian for this vital, changing industry. "Our history calls out so many characteristics that the industry needs to consider for future planning¾continuous innovation, change, and the ability to meet and anticipate the customer's need. The EDSF Museum illustrates how far the industry has come," said Brian Baxendale, EDSF Board of Directors, and president, Pitney Bowes Production Mail & Documents Factory Solutions. The mission of the Electronic Document Systems Foundation is to enhance the economic value of document communications by creating a base of knowledge, sponsoring innovative and academic-based research, fostering education and leadership, and building and supporting a community of interest to benefit creators and users. The Electronic Document Systems Foundation Awards $2,000 Industry Scholarship to Graphic Communications College Student Award Marks First Scholarship for the Electronic Document Systems Industry.

About EDSF
EDSF is the only foundation dedicated to enhancing the value and relevance of document communications worldwide. EDSF is a catalyst for education and research initiatives that bring the industry together to resolve document communication issues that impact society. EDSF helps the industry and public benefit from paper and electronic documents, which are continually being transformed by emerging technologies. Information: www.edsf.org, or contact Jeanne Mowlds, EDSF executive director, at (310) 541-1481 or jmowlds@edsf.org.