Editing Mimeograph (section)

==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 [[image scanner|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.{{fact|date=July 2023}}

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 country|developed countries]].{{fact|date=July 2023}} Mimeography continues to be used in some [[developing country|developing countries]] because it is a simple, cheap, and robust technology. Many mimeographs can be hand-cranked, requiring no electricity.