The mimeograph machine arrived about the same time as hot-metal typesetting, a process commonly used in newspaper publishing that involved melting metal into different character shapes. But the mimeograph effectively took the opposite approach. Essentially, it was a stencil machine combined with an ink roller.
How do you use a mimeograph?
Written By: Mimeograph, also called stencil duplicator, duplicating machine that uses a stencil consisting of a coated fibre sheet through which ink is pressed. Employing a typewriter with the ribbon shifted out of the way so that the keys do not strike it, the information to be duplicated is typed on the stencil.
Why are mimeograph machines used in schools and churches?
And while the mimeograph was utilized for printing all sorts of documents, it became popular among schools and churches in particular because of its relatively low cost and ease of use. Mimeograph machines shouldn’t be (but often are) mistaken for another technology widely used in classrooms of the time: the spirit duplicator or ditto machine.
When was the first mimeograph made?
Invented in 1884, the mimeograph required that a stencil be produced prior to making copies, either by using a typewriter (ribbon removed) or hand-drawn using a stylus. The stencil was attached to the drum and black ink was pressed through the stencil onto paper as the drum rotated.
What is mimeographed paper?
The mimeograph became the most widely used system for mass-producing papers with print on them. The ink it used ended up looking deep blue or purple. The materials also made mimeographed paper have a unique smell.
When were mimeographs used in schools?
In the 1940s, the mimeograph began to be used by teachers to print classroom materials. Additionally, school office staff used them to print out various documents used for daily operations within the school.
How did the old mimeograph machines work?
Essentially, it was a stencil machine combined with an ink roller. Rather than using an additive process to make the necessary pages, the mimeograph relied on a master page, often made of wax, that had elements stenciled out. The ink was then forced through the holes in the master page, producing high-quality copies.
What was in mimeograph ink?
A blue or purple mimeograph ink comprising a blue or purple dye-stufi or its base, linoleic acid, a small proportion of phenol, magnesium carbonate, mineral oil and Turkey-red oil.
Why did dittos smell so good?
The output of the ditto machine had a special aroma. Students could tell when a class assignment was hot out of the machine by the strength of the odor of the pages. The smell came from the ditto machine's duplicating fluid, a mix of methanol and isopropanol.
When did people stop using mimeograph?
Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing into the 1970s, photocopying gradually displaced mimeographs, spirit duplicators, and hectographs. For even smaller quantities, up to about five, a typist would use carbon paper.
How did people duplicate before photocopies?
Some documents that were to be copied with copying presses were written with copying pencils rather than copying ink. The cores of copying pencils, which appear to have been introduced in the 1870s, were made from a mixture of graphite, clay, and aniline dye.
What was the smell of mimeograph?
With its rapturously fragrant, sweetly aromatic pale blue ink, mimeograph paper was literally intoxicating.
What do dittos smell like?
4:036:03The smell of Mimeographs and Dittos - Life in America - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe ink it used ended up looking deep blue or purple. And they had a unique smell to them that wasMoreThe ink it used ended up looking deep blue or purple. And they had a unique smell to them that was thoroughly enjoyable for students the smell of a freshly printed ditto is one of those smells we.
Do mimeograph machines still exist?
The mimeograph became largely obsolete with the development of xerography and other photocopiers.
Why did everyone smell the paper in fast times?
After the paper is passed out, the students put the page up to their noses and deeply inhale. This was a popular school ritual of the '60s, '70s and early '80s as photocopying machines were very expensive, so ditto machines were used. The resulting copies did not get you high but they smelled good.
What were the old school copiers called?
Mimeographsmimeograph Add to list Share. A mimeograph is an old-fashioned copy machine. Mimeographs were often used for making classroom copies in schools before photocopying became inexpensive in the mid- to late-twentieth century.
What is ditto fluid made of?
The fluid in the machine, typically a 50/50 mix of isopropanol and methanol, was spread to the paper to be printed on by an absorbent wick.
What were the old school copiers called?
Mimeographsmimeograph Add to list Share. A mimeograph is an old-fashioned copy machine. Mimeographs were often used for making classroom copies in schools before photocopying became inexpensive in the mid- to late-twentieth century.
How were documents copied in the 1940s?
You made a carbon-paper sandwich - paper, carbon paper, paper, then you load the sandwich into the typewriter, or just write on it with a pen. The ink of the pen/typerwriter ribbon makes the “original” copy, the pressure of the pen would transfer the carbon paper ink (which is dry, like typewriter ribbon) to the paper.
What was the purple copy machine called?
Both pieces of paper are stained with purple ink because they went through a machine invented in 1923 called a ditto machine, or spirit duplicator.
How much did a mimeograph cost?
These mimeos cost between $50 and a hundred dollars in 1950, equivalent to about $500 to a thousand dollars today, and were at first mostly used in schools and offices.