However, because the siphon recorder only needed to draw a single uninterrupted line, this was not a problem. The siphon recorder did not have this ability its ink was always being jetted onto the paper. In continuous inkjet printers the ink flows constantly as well, however, the ink can be diverted to a “trap” when areas of the image require no or low ink levels. The siphon recorder, on the other hand had a constant stream of ink flowing from the glass tube. In modern, drop-on-demand printers the ink is only ejected from the nozzle when the computer data calls for it. It actually functioned more like the early continuous inkjet printers (such as from Iris Graphics) as opposed to the more common drop-on-demand printers we now find in homes and offices around the world. So there is a good argument for the claim that this device was indeed the first inkjet printer. The fluctuation of the line, therefore, corresponded with the source’s transmitted signal and could be read back from Morse code into the originating language. As the paper moved forward and the tube swung back and forth, it created a continuous “wobbly” line. The ink was charged and was pulled in a spray from the tip of the tube by an oppositely charged plate behind the recording paper. The upper end of the tube was immersed in an ink reservoir the lower end held just above (but not in contact with) the recording paper. ![]() It swung in one direction when the signal was positively charged (representing the “dot”) and the other direction with the negative charge signal (representing the “dash”). ![]() In the receiving unit, the siphon recorder, a glass tube (the siphon) oscillated back and forth on a pivot. One sent a positive charge and the other a negative charge. These did not have a single handle to tap out the dots and dashes of Morse code but double handles. The trans-ocean signal sending units were also different than traditional telegraph senders. ![]() These signals were not strong enough to pull down the standard metal sounders that were used with landlines (and made the famous tap, tap, tap sound we are so familiar with from western movies). The siphon recorder was developed specifically as a way to capture the very weak signals that were being received through the extremely long trans-ocean telegraph cables. The siphon recorder was invented by William Thomson and patented in 1867, long before the 1980’s when inkjets were first used to create digital prints from a desktop computer.
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