Xerography--Where It All Began

After attaining a degree in physics, Carlson eventually got a job with P.R. Mallory & Co., a New York electronics firm. He earned a law degree from New York Law School, and was promoted to manager of Mallory's patent department.

There, in this heavy paperwork environment, Carlson noticed the consistent shortage of carbon copies of patent specifications. He began to conceive of a device that would accept a document and make copies of it in seconds.