In 1969 Gary Starkweather proposed at Xerox Webster an idea his superiors rejected: using a modulated laser to write directly onto the xerographic drum. Transferred to Xerox PARC, he developed the first functional prototype around 1971–1972. The system combined three pre-existing technologies — xerography, laser, and computing — into a new result: high-quality digital printing. The Xerox 9700 (1977) was the first commercial unit; HP and other manufacturers mass-produced the technology in the 1980s. In the long history of printing, the laser marks the point where reproducing text stops being mechanical and becomes computational.