Editing Mimeograph

{{short description|Type of duplicating machine}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{About-distinguish2|the stencil-based process|the [[spirit duplicator]] which is sometimes incorrectly called a "mimeograph"}}
{{for|the EP by Old 97's|Mimeograph (EP)}}
[[File:Mimeograph.svg|thumb|right|250px|Illustration of a typical mimeograph machine]]
{{History of printing}}

A '''mimeograph machine''' (often abbreviated to '''mimeo''', sometimes called a '''stencil duplicator''' or '''stencil machine''') is a low-cost [[duplicating machines|duplicating machine]] that works by forcing ink through a [[stencil]] onto paper.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mimeograph|title=Definition of MIMEOGRAPH|website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref> The process is called '''mimeography''', and a copy made by the process is a '''mimeograph'''.

Mimeographs, along with [[spirit duplicator]]s and [[hectograph]]s, 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 [[typewriter|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 [[stencil]]s is an ancient art, but{{snd}}through chemistry, papers, and presses{{snd}}techniques advanced rapidly in the late nineteenth century:

===Papyrograph ===
A description of the Papyrograph method of duplication was published by David Owen:<ref>{{cite book| first=David| last=Owen  |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QbFobeCexgsC&pg=PA42 |title=Copies in Seconds|page=42 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |via=Google book preview |isbn=0-7432-5117-2}}</ref> 

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

The process was commercialized<ref>1878: [https://books.google.com/books?id=tuLgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA390 Library Journal 3:390] Advertisement via Google Books</ref><ref>[http://www.officemuseum.com/copy_machines.htm Antique Copying Machines] from Office Museum</ref> and Zuccato applied for a patent in 1895 having stencils prepared by typewriting.<ref>Eugenic de Zuccato (1895) [https://patents.google.com/patent/US548116 Patent US548116]  Improvement for stencils from typewriting</ref>

===Electric pen===
{{Main|Electric pen}}

[[Thomas Edison]] received US patent 180,857 for Autographic Printing on August 8, 1876.<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=180857 |gdate=1876-08-08 |fdate=1876-03-13 |inventor1-last=Edison |inventor1-first=Thomas A. |title=Improvement in autographic printing |url=https://edison.rutgers.edu/images/patents/00180857.PDF}} <!--{{Cite web |url=http://edison.rutgers.edu/patents/00180857.PDF |title=Archived copy |access-date=2005-06-12 |archive-date=2018-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205025553/http://edison.rutgers.edu/patents/00180857.PDF |url-status=dead }}--></ref>  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.<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=224665 |gdate=1880-02-17 |fdate=1870-03-17 |inventor1-last=Edison |inventor1-first=Thomas A. |title=Method of Preparing Autographic Stencils for Printing |url=https://edison.rutgers.edu/images/patents/00224665.PDF}} <!--{{Cite web |url=http://edison.rutgers.edu/patents/00224665.PDF |title=Archived copy |access-date=2005-06-12 |archive-date=2016-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923001029/http://edison.rutgers.edu/patents/00224665.PDF |url-status=dead }}--></ref>

The word ''mimeograph'' was first used by [[Albert Blake Dick]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Dick (A.B.) Co |title=Circular Edison Mimeograph |orig-date=1887-03-10 |website=Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University |url=https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/CA035A |access-date=2023-04-10}} <!--{{Cite web |url=http://edison.rutgers.edu/NamesSearch/SingleDoc.php3?DocId=CA035A |title=Archived copy |access-date=2005-06-12 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055344/http://edison.rutgers.edu/NamesSearch/SingleDoc.php3?DocId=CA035A |url-status=dead }}--></ref> when he licensed Edison's patents in 1887.<ref>{{cite web |author=Dick (A.B.) Co |title=Agreement, Thomas Alva Edison, Dick (A.B.) Co |orig-date=1889 |website=Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University |url=https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/LB024149 |access-date=2023-04-10}} <!--{{Cite web |url=http://edison.rutgers.edu/NamesSearch/SingleDoc.php3?DocId=LB024149 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2005-06-12 |archive-date=2016-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728042043/http://edison.rutgers.edu/NamesSearch/SingleDoc.php3?DocId=LB024149 |url-status=dead }}--></ref>

Dick received [[Trademark]] Registration no. 0356815 for the term ''mimeograph'' in the US Patent Office. It is currently{{As of?|date=September 2022}} 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/68/M0306800.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908113755/http://www.bartleby.com/61/68/M0306800.html|title=mimeograph. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.|archive-date=8 September 2008}}</ref> (''Roneograph'', also ''Roneo machine'', was another trademark used for mimeograph machines, the name being a contraction of ''Rotary Neostyle''.)

===Cyclostyle===
{{Main|Cyclostyle (copier)}}
[[File:Stencil machine with its last paper in, Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, Antwerp, Belgium, 2016-07-26.jpg|thumb|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.

<gallery widths="230" heights="170">
File:1889 Edison Mimeograph.jpg|Advertisement from 1889 for the Edison Mimeograph
File:Edison's* mimeograph box.jpg|A wooden Edison's mimeograph size 12"
File:Mimeograph, 1918.png|1918 illustration of a mimeograph machine
File:Mimeograph - The National Duplicator.JPG|Jackson & O'Sullivan's "The National" Duplicator. Produced in Brisbane, Queensland during World War II.
File:Resistance mimeograph machines.JPG|Mimeograph machines used by the [[Belgian resistance]] during World War II to produce underground newspapers and pamphlets
</gallery>

==Mimeography process==
The image transfer medium was originally a stencil made from [[wax]]ed [[Rice paper#Mulberry paper|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<ref>[http://chem.5677567.com/formula/mimeograph-ink-vehicle-formula.html Mimeograph Ink Vehicle Formula] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120709153405/http://chem.5677567.com/formula/mimeograph-ink-vehicle-formula.html |date=2012-07-09 }} Chemical Industry</ref> 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 [[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>

===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 [[letterform]]s (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.<ref name=DupStencil>{{cite web |title=Duplicating stencil |url=http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4535690/description.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421191131/http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4535690/description.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-04-21 |work=Patentstorm |access-date=2011-05-10}}</ref>

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, [[xerography|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 [[slow fire|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.<ref>{{Cite patent |country=US |number=5270099| title=Thermal mimeograph paper|gdate=1990-12-21|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US5270099A/en}}</ref>

==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.

==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 [[fanzine]]s 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.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Rich Brown |date=2006-06-26 |url=http://www.fanac.org/Fannish_Reference_Works/Fan_terms/Fan_terms-09.html#023 |title=Dr. Gafia's Fan Terms – VICOLOR |website=The FANAC Fan History Project|access-date=2020-04-15}}</ref>

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]].<ref>Stone, Harry (1996). ''Writing in the Shadow: Resistance Publications in Occupied Europe'' (1st ed.). London: Cass. ISBN 0-7146-3424-7.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Duplicating machines]]
* [[Gocco]]
* [[List of duplicating processes]]
* [[Mimeoscope]]
* [[Mimeo Revolution]]
* [[Spirit duplicator]] (also known as a "Rexograph" or "Ditto machine" in the US or a "Banda machine" in the UK)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*  Hutchison, Howard (1979). ''Mimeograph Operation, Maintenance & Repair''. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books. {{ISBN|9780830689415}}. {{OCLC|4136051}}.

==External links==
{{commons category}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Obsolete technologies]]
[[Category:Office equipment]]
[[Category:Printing devices]]
[[Category:Copying]]