The history of RLA has been one of innovation and invention, and RLA has continued to lead the way in developing technologies which address the needs and requirements of the digital printing market, as well as exploring the implementation of non-impact printing technologies to non-traditional printing markets.
In 1959 Research Laboratories of Australia was granted a trading licence from the Commonwealth of Australia for its invention of developing electrostatic images with liquid toners.
RLA's First Laboratory in Rostrevor, South Australia 1959.
Licensees of this new technology received a book of "know-how" describing electrophotography, liquid toners and the liquid development process.
Innovative from the very start, RLA quickly started to build its own portfolio of patents and soon gained a worldwide reputation as a leader in the newly emerging field of non-impact printing technology.
Water Meter Dial
The printing of metal water meter faces for South Australia's Engineering and Water Supply Department, was the first commercial use of printing with liquid toners.
Even at this stage, color toners were being used on an in-house basis, to produce schematics of the zinc oxide paper coating process built by RLA in 1959.
Early Color Schematic Drawing of Paper Coater
RLA pioneered the toner chemistry used in the first liquid toner copying machines that became available in the early 1960's. The Mark II copier from Addressograph-Multigraph, was designed to enable almost any image to be copied quickly with excellent clarity and definition.
As RLA grew, so did its requirements for larger premises. In 1965, the company moved into a new facility in Darlington, South Australia.
Darlington, South Australia 1965.
In the mid 60's, RLA innovation led to the creation of the REMAK color proofing process. REMAK was entirely conceived and carried out by RLA from the formulation of the photoconductor and liquid toner chemistry, to the design of all aspects of the electrophotographic process.
Recognised as one of the decade's greatest advances in graphic arts, it was the only means of creating a color proof on white paper without actually going to print. REMAK was received with great enthusiasm by lithographers, photo-engravers, trade platemakers and all print professionals.
REMAK System
Remak Electrograph, a subsidiary of RLA, produced both the liquid toner and the zinc oxide photoconductor for the REMAK process. These supplies were exported to systems installed in Europe, New Zealand and the US.
Another subsidiary, Chemical Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd, was formed to manufacture and export toners developed by RLA for clients. The main product at this time was toner for the first liquid copying machines.
Bell & Howell Autoload II
Beginning from 1966, RLA developed liquid toners for Bell & Howell's range of office copiers such as the Autoload II. This association continued for many years with work extending to their range of microfilm reader-printers. RLA also contributed to the development of the process and helped Bell & Howell establish a toner production plant in the US.
RLA began working with Canon, Japan in 1966. Research and Development was started on toner for the Canall copier and was followed by extensive work on converting the NP system from dry to liquid toner operation.
Canon Canall Copier
RLA's ingenuity was at the heart of the Canon NP-70, the world's first Liquid Dry plain-paper copier. Working in close cooperation with Canon, RLA developed both the toner chemistry and a number of innovative process technologies employed in the NP series of copiers.
Canon Liquid Toner Copiers
The Liquid Dry process made high-quality copying on plain paper a reality and brought with it the economic benefits of double-sided copying. Liquid Dry technology also meant that office copiers could be more compact and user-friendly.
In addition to the involvement with Canon, RLA also worked with a range of clients supplying toners for a variety of liquid toner copiers. The toner formulations were developed and manufactured by RLA for local and export consumption.
Liquid Toner Copiers
As a steadily growing company, RLA once again moved to larger and more modern laboratory premises, custom designed for Research and Development, at Kidman Park.
Kidman Park
The REMAK analogue colorproofing process continued unchallenged as a time and money saving tool in the print field. Electrostatic transfer to the actual printing stock and automation of the process provided the basis for future developments in this field. RLA also successfully developed a range of printing chemicals for supply to this market segment.
Remak Electrograph continued to supply toner and zinc oxide paper for the installed base of colorproofers throughout the decade.
From 1974, International Image Industries, a joint venture between RLA and Canon Inc., produced liquid toner for the NP series of photocopiers. Peak production in this period reached several million litres of developer per year for domestic consumption and export to Europe, Asia and North America. In a separate plant, photoconductor drum coating for the local market was also carried out.
Production Facilities
In the mid 1970's, RLA pioneered a new form of dry toner technology. 'Encapsulation' toner chemistry was used to enable low-energy fixing. Pressure rollers were used to rupture the capsules, releasing ink into the paper. RLA's efforts generated considerable intellectual property for clients such as Xerox and 3M.
Encapsulated Dry Toner
The Canon LBP-10 printer, developed in 1979, was the world's first semi-conductor laser beam printer. It brought the accuracy required for Computer Aided Design (CAD) and other graphic terminal systems together with plain paper usage for lower running costs.
Canon LBP-10 Liquid Copier
With RLA technology at its heart, the Canon LBP-10 finally brought print systems up to speed with CRT displays for automatic drawing systems.
In the early 1980's, working with clients such as Savin Corporation, innovative improvements continued to be made by RLA with liquid toner copiers. Higher image density, improved resolution, low consumption of carrier liquid and transfer to a wide range of substrates were to provide the future direction for liquid toner products.
Savin 770 Liquid Copier
The Kidman Park Laboratories were extended to accommodate the number of projects undertaken in this period.
Starting in 1981, RLA developed a liquid toner for Mergenthaler's Omnitech/2000. This was the world's first laser typesetter producing high quality prints on zinc oxide paper for either paste-up or direct printing.
Mergenthaler Omnitech/2000
RLA developed a range of specialty inks for both drop-on-demand and continuous ink-jet printers. Applications for these inks included water-resistant black and process colors, OCR, MICR, platemaking and textile printing.
Ink Jet System
RLA's next step in colorproofing began in1980 with the Stork Color Proofing System. RLA-developed process and toner chemistry meant a dramatic improvement in resolution and realistic reproduction on a variety of media. The extensive range of toners precisely matched the color and tonal rendition of printing standards such as EuroColour and SWOP. Available in both analogue and digital form, these electrostatic proofs on the actual printing stock paper were virtually indistinguishable from the printed result.
Stork Colorproofing System
During the 1980's, RLA initiated Research and Development efforts to convert an electrostatic plotter to operate with hectographic dye-based toner. Equipment was designed and toners were developed for the preparation of markers used for the cutting of fabric in the apparel industry.
Fabric Cutting Marker Equipment
The production of the Canon toners continued until 1984. A joint venture company, KC Chemical Corporation Pty Ltd, was formed between RLA and Stork Colorproofing B.V. of The Netherlands. This company, based in Adelaide, produced toners for Stork's colorproofing system for export to Europe.
Chemical Corporation of Australia Pty Ltd continued to produce toners for a variety of applications including copiers, platemaking and specialty toner for electrostatic plotters.
Production Facilities
In 1991, RLA developed a unique and proprietary toner chemistry for the Deluxe laser electrostatic platesetter. Deluxe Corporation is the largest cheque printing company in the world.
Deluxe Cheques
In our Kidman Park laboratory, RLA is currently undertaking Research and Development for clients worldwide into novel, ground-breaking technologies. In addition to working directly for clients, RLA has in-house Research and Development activities that have yielded a variety of proprietary technologies and processes.
RLA's decades of discovery and innovation, have made us a quality leader in our field and have maintained us on the cutting edge of reprographic technologies. Our credentials have led to our working with many of the world's largest imaging companies from Eastman Kodak to Canon and Stork to 3M, while also understanding the requirements of smaller innovative companies.
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