History of the Dry Erase Marker

Dry erase boards are everywhere but like the cell phone, the iPod and the Snuggy the there was a time when white boards did not exist and dry erase markers were not on the school supply list. Now that whiteboards come in every imaginable size they just seem like they have always been around but they are in fact a technology that is about 50 years old.

Remember Vis-a-Vis markers?
Wet erase markers that write on transparencies? They are the parent of the dry erase markers. In 1965, Sanford marketed them to businesses as temporary visual communication aids and they opened up a whole new universe of communication.

August 1976 the original EXPO marker was launched by the makers of Vis-a-Vis but EXPOs were dry erase. Original EXPO markers were fat with chizzle tips available in black, red, blue, and green. Over the years other types of EXPO dry erase markers have been added to the line including fine tips, low odor and many, many colors.

During the 1980's dry erase markers and whiteboards became popular in Europe but they did not get into the mainstream of American culture until the 1990's when computers and allergies pushed into the spotlight. By the mid 1990's schools were no longer installing black or green chalk boards, many teachers covered their chalkboards with posters and favored transparencies and the chalkboards were essentially obsolete in the business world.

In addition to being cleaner and more visually appealing, whiteboards are often lighter than their chalkboard cousins making them easier to transport. Unlike the EXPO marker which got their formula right out of the gate the early whiteboards had some improving to do.

The first whiteboards had a melamine surface that tended to absorb small amounts of the markers if left for long periods of time staining ghost images into the boards. Most modern whiteboards are enamel on steel or enamel coated plastics. Staining on today's whiteboards is normally the result of poorly formulated off brand dry erase markers.