HP LaserJet History Preserved in Boise ShowcaseLook around your country. There are Art Museums, Steam Engine Museums, Pinball Museums, the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other specialized and general purpose museums around the world. And now there is a LaserJet History Showcase (Museum) in Boise, ID, the birthplace of Hewlett-Packard's enormously successful line of large and small LaserJet printing products. Located at the HP Boise site, near its company cafeteria, the Showcase is the result of the efforts of one man. Jim Hall credits Von Hansen for this glamorous presentation of all of those paradigm-shifting personal printers. Von was one of the original EPOC (Electrophotographic-Printer-On-Computer) engineers, and father of PCL (printer command language). Von was manager of many successful LaserJet product designs and is currently an HP VP. At HPMemory.org, we have a dream that there should also be a Measurement Instrument Museum , to preserve the creative precision instruments of the middle of the 20 th Century. In those middle decades of the Golden Years of “High-Tech” the measurement instruments in many cases preceded the scientific breakthroughs across a broad spectrum of specialties. They paved the way to the moon, they produced communications revolutions, they improved medical technology, they lay the groundwork for the semiconductor industry and the computer and printing sectors. There is hardly a venture of the human race that wasn't improved by the instrument engineers and creative research geniuses of so many measurement companies. We have acquired a vast warehouse full of vintage HP instrumentation. And, frankly, we are looking for encouragement to make this resource into some sort of preservation of all of those ideas and hardware embodiments of the restless brain. If you have similar visions, please contact us.
|
Jim Hall
On June 1, the Boise, Idaho site celebrated the grand opening of an area that showcases HP Boise's LaserJet history and provides a "Digital OASIS" where HP employees have free access to a full array of the latest HP digital photography solutions. The two areas share a contemporary design with accent lighting, new colors and a cloud ceiling effect to create an enjoyable working experience for employees.
 |
| Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting – (L to R) – Bill Robison, Von Hansen, Ron Coughlin and Jim Hall |
The LaserJet Showcase presents the early history of HP laser printers. The very first HP laser printer (HP 2680A, 1980, $125,000) is on display along with a glass enclosed "wall" exhibiting early LaserJets, beginning with the first LaserJet (1984, $3,500) and extending into the early 1990's where the LaserJet product line had expanded into the personal, office, networked and color market segments. Other Showcase areas include displays of toner cartridge technology, early font cartridges and LaserJet industry awards. An extensive digital library of early LaserJet videos, pictures, product brochures and press releases is also available for viewing.
In addition to presenting LaserJet history, the Showcase displays the latest LaserJet products in a relaxed, creative, informal work space for employees.
The LaserJet Showcase is a "dream come true" for Von Hansen, HP VP and General Manager. Von has been actively involved in the LaserJet product line from its very beginning and for all of his career. Most of the printers in the Showcase came from his personal accumulation. It has long been a vision of Von's to create a display that accurately depicts HP's LaserJet history.
 |
|
LaserJet Showcase – LaserJet History and an Informal Work Environment |
The Digital OASIS is an area where employees can use the full array of HP digital photography solutions (printers, plotters, scanners, software and more) to create an almost infinite variety of color hard copy output. An earlier version of the Digital OASIS has been very popular at the Boise site since it opened several years ago. Employees considered it a great benefit as it offered them the opportunity to learn and try out HP's digital photography solutions. The new Digital Oasis offers even greater functionality in a more creative, enjoyable environment.
 |
|
The Digital OASIS – The Tools and Environment for Creative Digital Photography Solutions |
 |
|
Opening Day – Employees Enjoy the New Digital Oasis |
To arrange a visit to the new HP LaserJet Showcase and Digital OASIS, e-mail OASIS Manager Kris Clegg at:
clegg
hp
WANT TO KNOW MORE about the HP Boise Division, and LaserJet History ?
To learn more about the birth and life of the HP Boise Division, "Making My Own Luck," by Ray Smelek is a must read. And for an in-depth knowledge of the HP LaserJet Early History, the Jim Hall memoir is another. Click below
Jun-02-2011 |
 |
HP LaserJet - The Early History, by Jim Hall |
Aug-10-2011 |
 |
"Making My Own Luck," by Ray Smelek |
About Us | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
