electrosensitive printer

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electrosensitive printer An obsolete type of printer that produced the required image by passing an electric current into the surface of specially prepared paper. The most common form used paper with one surface coated first with a layer of carbon black and then with a fine coat of aluminum to give it a white appearance. The writing was done by a row of styluses that could be separately energized to pass sufficient electric current into the surface to vaporize the aluminum locally and expose the black undersurface.