Edward L. Kaplan

Edward L. Kaplan founded Data Sciences Inc. in 1969 to manufacture high-speed computer printers, but his true legacy was the invention of the commercial thermal transfer printer in 1982, a breakthrough that eliminated the limitations of impact printing and established the foundation for the global barcode labeling and AIDC industry.

Edward L. Kaplan is a visionary engineer, entrepreneur, and the founder of Zebra Technologies Corporation, having established the company in 1969 under the name Data Sciences Inc. with the initial goal of manufacturing high-speed, impact-based printers for mainframe computers. Kaplan's deep technical expertise in computer peripherals and data processing was instrumental in identifying the fundamental limitations of the existing printing technologies, which were slow, noisy, and incapable of producing the durable, high-resolution labels required for the emerging automated identification and data capture (AIDC) revolution. Recognizing that the future of data output lay in thermal technology, Kaplan led his team of engineers in a relentless, multi-year effort to develop a viable commercial thermal transfer printing mechanism, a monumental technical undertaking that required rewriting the fundamental rules of how ink was transferred to synthetic materials using heat. This vision culminated in the 1982 introduction of the first commercial thermal transfer printer, a revolutionary device that fundamentally restructured the economics of asset labeling and enabled the mass adoption of barcode technology across the global retail, logistics, and manufacturing sectors. Kaplan's strategic decision to rename the company Zebra Technologies in 1986 reflected the high-contrast barcode stripes that his printers produced, and his leadership in the company's early engineering efforts established the foundational technical moat that allowed the company to disrupt the legacy printing market and capture the rapidly growing enterprise automation market, culminating in the company's historic initial public offering in 1991 and its eventual transformation into a $4.3 billion global technology powerhouse.