Editing Mimeograph (section)

===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 [[typewriter ribbon|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 [[Mineral oil|oil]]-based [[ink]]. This is called "cutting a stencil".<ref name=MimeoTypewriter>{{cite web|title=How to prepare a mimeograph stencil by using a typewriter|url=http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/implementaliteracyprogram/howtoprepareamimeographstencil2.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121016144524/http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/implementaliteracyprogram/howtoprepareamimeographstencil2.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-10-16|work=LinguaLinks Library|publisher=SIL International|access-date=2011-05-10}}</ref>

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.<ref name=MimeoHand>{{cite web|title=How to prepare a mimeograph stencil by hand|url=http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/implementaliteracyprogram/howtoprepareamimeographstencil1.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20111022224825/http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/implementaliteracyprogram/howtoprepareamimeographstencil1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-10-22|work=LinguaLinks Library|publisher=SIL International|access-date=2011-05-10}}</ref>

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.)<ref name=MimeoCorrect>{{cite web|title=How to correct a mimeograph stencil|url=http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/implementaliteracyprogram/howtocorrectamimeographstencil.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121016144730/http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/implementaliteracyprogram/howtocorrectamimeographstencil.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-10-16|work=LinguaLinks Library|publisher=SIL International|access-date=2011-05-10}}</ref>

Stencils were also made with a thermal process, an infrared method similar to that used by early photocopiers. The common machine was a [[Thermofax]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Preservation Self-Assessment Program (PSAP) {{!}} Office Printing and Reprography |url=https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/officeprintcopy |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=psap.library.illinois.edu}}</ref>

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 printer|dot-matrix impact printers]].<ref name=MimeoDotMatrix>{{cite web|title=How to prepare a mimeograph stencil by using a dot matrix printer |url=http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/implementaliteracyprogram/howtoprepareamimeographstencil.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080213121240/http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/implementaliteracyprogram/howtoprepareamimeographstencil.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-02-13 |work=LinguaLinks Library|publisher=SIL International|access-date=2011-05-10}}</ref>