Mimeograph

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Illustration of a typical mimeograph machine Mimeograph.svg
Illustration of a typical mimeograph machine

A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator or stencil machine) was a low-cost duplicating machine that worked by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. [1] The process was called mimeography, and a copy made by the process was a mimeograph.

Contents

Mimeographs, along with spirit duplicators and hectographs, were common technologies for printing small quantities of a document, as in office work, classroom materials, and church bulletins. For even smaller quantities, up to about five, a typist would use carbon paper. Early fanzines were printed by mimeograph because the machines and supplies were widely available and inexpensive. Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing into the 1970s, photocopying gradually displaced mimeographs, spirit duplicators, and hectographs.

Origins

Use of stencils is an ancient art, but –through chemistry, papers, and presses –techniques advanced rapidly in the late nineteenth century:

Papyrograph

A description of the Papyrograph method of duplication was published by David Owen: [2]

A major beneficiary of the invention of synthetic dyes was a document reproduction technique known as stencil duplicating. Its earliest form was invented in 1874 by Eugenio de Zuccato, a young Italian studying law in London, who called his device the Papyrograph. Zuccato's system involved writing on a sheet of varnished paper with caustic ink, which ate through the varnish and paper fibers, leaving holes where the writing had been. This sheet – which had now become a stencil – was placed on a blank sheet of paper, and ink rolled over it so that the ink oozed through the holes, creating a duplicate on the second sheet.

The process was commercialized [3] [4] and Zuccato applied for a patent in 1895 having stencils prepared by typewriting. [5]

Electric pen

Thomas Edison received US patent 180,857 for Autographic Printing on August 8, 1876. [6] The patent covered the electric pen, used for making the stencil, and the flatbed duplicating press. In 1880, Edison obtained a further patent, US 224,665: "Method of Preparing Autographic Stencils for Printing," which covered the making of stencils using a file plate, a grooved metal plate on which the stencil was placed which perforated the stencil when written on with a blunt metal stylus. [7]

The word mimeograph was first used by Albert Blake Dick [8] when he licensed Edison's patents in 1887. [9]

Dick received Trademark Registration no. 0356815 for the term mimeograph in the US Patent Office. It is currently[ as of? ] listed as a dead entry, but shows the A.B. Dick Company of Chicago as the owner of the name.

Over time, the term became generic and is now an example of a genericized trademark. [10] (Roneograph, also Roneo machine, was another trademark used for mimeograph machines, the name being a contraction of Rotary Neostyle.)

Cyclostyle

A Rotary Cyclostyle No. 6 duplicating press. Stencil machine with its last paper in, Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, Antwerp, Belgium, 2016-07-26.jpg
A Rotary Cyclostyle No. 6 duplicating press.

In 1891, David Gestetner patented his Automatic Cyclostyle. This was one of the first rotary machines that retained the flatbed, which passed back and forth under inked rollers. This invention provided for more automated, faster reproductions since the pages were produced and moved by rollers instead of pressing one single sheet at a time.

By 1900, two primary types of mimeographs had come into use: a single-drum machine and a dual-drum machine. The single-drum machine used a single drum for ink transfer to the stencil, and the dual-drum machine used two drums and silk-screens to transfer the ink to the stencils. The single drum (example Roneo) machine could be easily used for multi-color work by changing the drum – each of which contained ink of a different color. This was spot color for mastheads. Colors could not be mixed.

The mimeograph became popular because it was much cheaper than traditional print – there was neither typesetting nor skilled labor involved. One individual with a typewriter and the necessary equipment became their own printing factory, allowing for greater circulation of printed material.

Mimeography process

The image transfer medium was originally a stencil made from waxed mulberry paper. Later this became an immersion-coated long-fiber paper, with the coating being a plasticized nitrocellulose. This flexible waxed or coated sheet is backed by a sheet of stiff card stock, with the two sheets bound at the top.

Once prepared, the stencil is wrapped around the ink-filled drum of the rotary machine. When a blank sheet of paper is drawn between the rotating drum and a pressure roller, ink is forced through the holes on the stencil onto the paper. Early flatbed machines used a kind of squeegee.

The ink originally had a lanolin base [11] and later became an oil in water emulsion. This emulsion commonly uses turkey-red oil (sulfated castor oil) which gives it a distinctive and heavy scent.

Preparing stencils

One uses a regular typewriter, with a stencil setting, to create a stencil. The operator loads a stencil assemblage into the typewriter like paper and uses a switch on the typewriter to put it in stencil mode. In this mode, the part of the mechanism which lifts the ribbon between the type element and the paper is disabled so that the bare, sharp type element strikes the stencil directly. The impact of the type element displaces the coating, making the tissue paper permeable to the oil-based ink. This is called "cutting a stencil". [12]

A variety of specialized styluses were used on the stencil to render lettering, illustrations, or other artistic features by hand against a textured plastic backing plate. [13]

Mistakes were corrected by brushing them out with a specially formulated correction fluid, and retyping once it has dried. (Obliterine was a popular brand of correction fluid in Australia and the United Kingdom.) [14]

Stencils were also made with a thermal process, an infrared method similar to that used by early photocopiers. The common machine was a Thermofax. [15]

Another device, called an electrostencil machine, sometimes was used to make mimeo stencils from a typed or printed original. It worked by scanning the original on a rotating drum with a moving optical head and burning through the blank stencil with an electric spark in the places where the optical head detected ink. It was slow and produced ozone. Text from electrostencils had lower resolution than that from typed stencils, although the process was good for reproducing illustrations. A skilled mimeo operator using an electrostencil and a very coarse halftone screen could make acceptable printed copies of a photograph.

During the declining years of the mimeograph, some people made stencils with early computers and dot-matrix impact printers. [16]

Limitations

Unlike spirit duplicators (where the only ink available is depleted from the master image), mimeograph technology works by forcing a replenishable supply of ink through the stencil master. In theory, the mimeography process could be continued indefinitely, especially if a durable stencil master were used (e.g. a thin metal foil). In practice, most low-cost mimeo stencils gradually wear out over the course of producing several hundred copies. Typically the stencil deteriorates gradually, producing a characteristic degraded image quality until the stencil tears, abruptly ending the print run. If further copies are desired at this point, another stencil must be made.

Often, the stencil material covering the interiors of closed letterforms (e.g. a, b, d, e, g, etc.) would fall away during continued printing, causing ink-filled letters in the copies. The stencil would gradually stretch, starting near the top where the mechanical forces were greatest, causing a characteristic "mid-line sag" in the textual lines of the copies, that would progress until the stencil failed completely.

The Gestetner Company (and others) devised various methods to make mimeo stencils more durable. [17]

Compared to spirit duplication, mimeography produced a darker, more legible image. Spirit duplicated images were usually tinted a light purple or lavender, which gradually became lighter over the course of some dozens of copies. Mimeography was often considered "the next step up" in quality, capable of producing hundreds of copies. Print runs beyond that level were usually produced by professional printers or, as the technology became available, xerographic copiers.

Durability

Mimeographed images generally have much better durability than spirit-duplicated images, since the inks are more resistant to ultraviolet light. The primary preservation challenge is the low-quality paper often used, which would yellow and degrade due to residual acid in the treated pulp from which the paper was made. In the worst case, old copies can crumble into small particles when handled. Mimeographed copies have moderate durability when acid-free paper is used. [18]

Contemporary use

Gestetner, Risograph, and other companies still make and sell highly automated mimeograph-like machines that are externally similar to photocopiers. The modern version of a mimeograph, called a digital duplicator, or copyprinter, contains a scanner, a thermal head for stencil cutting, and a large roll of stencil material entirely inside the unit. The stencil material consists of a very thin polymer film laminated to a long-fiber non-woven tissue. It makes the stencils and mounts and unmounts them from the print drum automatically, making it almost as easy to operate as a photocopier. The Risograph is the best known of these machines.[ citation needed ]

Although mimeographs remain more economical and energy-efficient in mid-range quantities, easier-to-use photocopying and offset printing have replaced mimeography almost entirely in developed countries.[ citation needed ] Mimeography continues to be used in some developing countries because it is a simple, cheap, and robust technology. Many mimeographs can be hand-cranked, requiring no electricity.

Uses and art

Mimeographs and the closely related but distinctly different spirit duplicator process were both used extensively in schools to copy homework assignments and tests. They were also commonly used for low-budget amateur publishing, including club newsletters and church bulletins. They were especially popular with science fiction fans, who used them extensively in the production of fanzines in the middle 20th century, before photocopying became inexpensive.

Letters and typographical symbols were sometimes used to create illustrations, in a precursor to ASCII art. Because changing ink color in a mimeograph could be a laborious process, involving extensively cleaning the machine or, on newer models, replacing the drum or rollers, and then running the paper through the machine a second time, some fanzine publishers experimented with techniques for painting several colors on the pad. [19]

In addition, mimeographs were used by many resistance groups during World War Two as a way to print illegal newspapers and publications in countries such as Belgium. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

Duplicating machines were the predecessors of modern document-reproduction technology. They have now been replaced by digital duplicators, scanners, laser printers, and photocopiers, but for many years they were the primary means of reproducing documents for limited-run distribution. The duplicator was pioneered by Thomas Edison and David Gestetner, with Gestetner dominating the market up until the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon paper</span> Paper used to make copies

Carbon paper consists of sheets of paper that create one or more copies simultaneously with the creation of an original document when inscribed by a typewriter or ballpoint pen. The email term cc which means ‘carbon copy’ is derived from carbon paper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stencil</span> Graphic design technique

Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object. The holes allow the pigment to reach only some parts of the surface creating the design. The stencil is both the resulting image or pattern and the intermediate object; the context in which stencil is used makes clear which meaning is intended. In practice, the (object) stencil is usually a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, wood or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spirit duplicator</span> Obsolete printing technology

A spirit duplicator is a printing method invented in 1923 by Wilhelm Ritzerfeld that was commonly used for much of the rest of the 20th century. The term "spirit duplicator" refers to the alcohols that were a major component of the solvents used in these machines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hectograph</span> Printing process that involves transfer of an original

The hectograph, gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a printing process that involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Offset printing</span> Printing technique

Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier. Ink rollers transfer ink to the image areas of the image carrier, while a water roller applies a water-based film to the non-image areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbonless copy paper</span> Coated paper used for copying

Carbonless copy paper (CCP), non-carbon copy paper, or NCR paper is a type of coated paper designed to transfer information written on the front onto sheets beneath. It was developed by chemists Lowell Schleicher and Barry Green, as an alternative to carbon paper and is sometimes misidentified as such.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gestetner</span> Type of duplicator machine and brand owned by Ricoh

The Gestetner is a type of duplicating machine named after its inventor, David Gestetner (1854–1939). During the 20th century, the term Gestetner was used as a verb—as in Gestetnering. The Gestetner company established its base in London, filing its first patent in 1879. The business grew, remaining within the control of the Gestetner family, and acquiring other businesses. In 1995, the Gestetner company was acquired by the Ricoh Corporation of Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric pen</span> Part of a device for duplicating handwritten documents

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Printing</span> Graphic arts museum in Haverhill, MA, US since 1978

The Museum of Printing (MoP), located in Haverhill, Massachusetts, is a museum dedicated to preserving the history of printing technologies and practices, the graphic arts, and their role in the development of culture and literacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gestetner</span> Austrian inventor

David Gestetner was the inventor of the Gestetner stencil duplicator, the first piece of office equipment that allowed production of numerous copies of documents quickly and inexpensively. He also invented a new kind of nail clipper. Gestetner was awarded the John Scott Medal by The Franklin Institute in 1888.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclostyle (copier)</span> Duplicating process

The Cyclostyle duplicating process is a form of stencil copying. A stencil is cut on wax or glazed paper by using a pen-like object with a small rowel or spur-wheel on its tip. A large number of small short lines are cut out in the glazed paper, removing the glaze with the spur-wheel, then ink is applied. It was invented in the later 19th century by David Gestetner, who named it cyclostyle after a drawing tool he used. Its name incorporates stylus, Classical Latin for a pen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Print Gocco</span> Discontinued printmaking system


Print Gocco was a compact, self-contained card printing system developed by Riso Kagaku Corporation and first sold in 1977. Print Gocco achieved significant success and sold over 10 million units cumulatively before production ceased in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Risograph</span> Brand of digital duplicators

Risograph is a brand of digital duplicators manufactured by the Riso Kagaku Corporation, that are designed mainly for high-volume photocopying and printing. It was released in Japan in 1980. It is sometimes called a printer-duplicator, as newer models can be used as a network printer as well as a stand-alone duplicator. When printing or copying many duplicates of the same content, it is typically far less expensive per page than a conventional photocopier, laser printer, or inkjet printer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photostat machine</span> Projection photocopier

The Photostat machine, or Photostat, was an early projection photocopier created in the decade of the 1900s by the Commercial Camera Company, which became the Photostat Corporation. The "Photostat" name, which was originally a trademark of the company, became genericized, and was often used to refer to similar machines produced by the RetinalGraph Company or to any copy made by any such machine.

Thermo-Fax is 3M's trademarked name for a photocopying technology which was introduced in 1950. It was a form of thermographic printing and an example of a dry silver process. It was a significant advance as no chemicals were required, other than those contained in the copy paper itself. A thin sheet of heat sensitive copy paper was placed on the original document to be copied, and exposed to infrared energy. Wherever the image on the original paper contained carbon, the image absorbed the infrared energy when heated. The heated image then transferred the heat to the heat sensitive paper producing a blackened copy image of the original.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photocopier</span> Device for reproducing documents

A photocopier is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process that uses electrostatic charges on a light-sensitive photoreceptor to first attract and then transfer toner particles onto paper in the form of an image. The toner is then fused onto the paper using heat, pressure, or a combination of both. Copiers can also use other technologies, such as inkjet, but xerography is standard for office copying.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. B. Dick Company</span> Former American printing equipment manufacturer

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<i>Spokane Natural</i> United States underground newspaper (1967–1970)

Spokane Natural was an underground newspaper published biweekly in Spokane, Washington from May 5, 1967, to November 13, 1970, by the Mandala Printshop, and edited by Russ Nobbs. It belonged to the Underground Press Syndicate and the Liberation News Service. The first issue was produced out of a converted barbershop storefront cum bookstore and hangout called the "Hippie Mission" on a cul-de-sac in Spokane, where Russ Nobbs and a visiting friend from the SF Bay area, Ormond Otvos wrote and produced the first 8-page issue on a hand-cranked Spirit duplicator. After several issues of pale blue "Ditto" print on white paper, The Natural moved to colored papers and occasionally colored ink with a Gestetner Mimeograph duplicator. Ultimately, the newspaper was printed on newsprint by sheet fed or web presses by various printers in Spokane, Seattle and Davenport, WA.

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of MIMEOGRAPH". www.merriam-webster.com.
  2. ↑ Owen, David (2004). Copies in Seconds. Simon & Schuster. p. 42. ISBN   0-7432-5117-2 – via Google book preview.
  3. ↑ 1878: Library Journal 3:390 Advertisement via Google Books
  4. ↑ Antique Copying Machines from Office Museum
  5. ↑ Eugenic de Zuccato (1895) Patent US548116 Improvement for stencils from typewriting
  6. ↑ US 180857,Edison, Thomas A.,"Improvement in autographic printing",issued 1876-08-08
  7. ↑ US 224665,Edison, Thomas A.,"Method of Preparing Autographic Stencils for Printing",issued 1880-02-17
  8. ↑ Dick (A.B.) Co. "Circular Edison Mimeograph". Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ Dick (A.B.) Co. "Agreement, Thomas Alva Edison, Dick (A.B.) Co". Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ "mimeograph. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000". Archived from the original on September 8, 2008.
  11. ↑ Mimeograph Ink Vehicle Formula Archived 2012-07-09 at archive.today Chemical Industry
  12. ↑ "How to prepare a mimeograph stencil by using a typewriter". LinguaLinks Library. SIL International. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  13. ↑ "How to prepare a mimeograph stencil by hand". LinguaLinks Library. SIL International. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  14. ↑ "How to correct a mimeograph stencil". LinguaLinks Library. SIL International. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Preservation Self-Assessment Program (PSAP) | Office Printing and Reprography". psap.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  16. ↑ "How to prepare a mimeograph stencil by using a dot matrix printer". LinguaLinks Library. SIL International. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Duplicating stencil". Patentstorm. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  18. ↑ US 5270099,"Thermal mimeograph paper",issued 1990-12-21
  19. ↑ Rich Brown (June 26, 2006). "Dr. Gafia's Fan Terms – VICOLOR". The FANAC Fan History Project. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  20. ↑ Stone, Harry (1996). Writing in the Shadow: Resistance Publications in Occupied Europe (1st ed.). London: Cass. ISBN 0-7146-3424-7.

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