Abstract
In 1867, William Thomson, later known as Lord Kelvin, was granted a patent for “receiving or recording instruments for electric telegraphers.” Kelvin’s “siphon recorder” is generally considered to be the first ink jet printer. It is important to capture information regarding research, particularly occurring in commercial as well as academic contexts, as well as to retrospectively attempt to piece together the path to a new technology. The history of a technology reveals not only the theory informing it, but where that theory might shape or restrict what the technology can do, as a product of a society as well as of science. This chapter traces the history of the technological development of ink jet printing. It will consider the commercial imperatives underpinning these developments, including the first machinery to print with ink jets onto textiles.
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