The Xerox copier made its debut in 1959, with the 914 model. It was a technological marvel that would scan a document, then spit out a nearly flawless copy.
It was also very expensive, and school budgets being what they were (and still are), that meant that teachers who wanted duplicate test papers or any other types of duplicated handouts needed to be adept at running something called a mimeograph machine. Generally, there would be one to share among several teachers.
I make lots of typos as I write these columns. I recognize most of them because Firefox underlines suspected goofs in red. All I have to do is right-click on the questioned word and I am offered suggested fixes, one of which is usually correct.
But teachers in the 60's had to be PERFECT typists. That's because the first step in creating a mimeograph was to insert a waxed stencil into the typewriter, set it to punch letters directly onto the stencil, bypassing the ribbon, and DON'T make a mistake! There was no correcting a stencil, and you had to use the expensive sheets very carefully.
Once the test was painstakingly typed out, the sheet was attached to a drum inside a hand-cranked mimeograph machine. Each turn of the crank drew a sheet of paper inside, where it was pressed against the stencil and ink would be printed matching the punched letters. The result was a duplicate of the original, albeit with extra lines caused by wrinkles and such on the stencil.
One of the delightful smells we enjoyed in the schoolroom was fresh mimeograph ink. I remember being handed a freshly printed test on a piece of paper that was slightly damp that smelled heavenly.
If you ever smelled a mimeographed page, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, the smell, slightly chemical, is difficult to describe. But it delighted the entire class to receive the fragrant sheets.
Teachers, on the other hand, weren't so crazy about the devices that produced them. Mimeograph machines were prone to various malfunctions. You could get ink on your hands or clothing. A rookie might put the stencil on the drum backwards, making a perfect copy of a test printed in mirror image. And the stencil could simply wear out, making the last tests unreadable.
But mimeograph machines were a part of our growing up, and if you could ever get your hands on one of those freshly printed sheets and smell its reassuring aroma, you would instantly be transported back to being eight years old again.
Comments (12)
I recall mimeographed sheets were a luxury item at my schools. (And note that there is a correction fluid for the stencils -- see Wikipedia.)
What we ended up having more often were Ditto duplicated tests and such. Now there were some fumes from the solvent for that!
Posted by Ted | April 3, 2007 12:25 PM
Posted on April 3, 2007 12:25
The smell, yes! I wonder who, if anyone, still uses these. I guess somewhere that doesn't have electricity. And that 'mimeograph purple' color was so distinctive.
Posted by Rhea | April 3, 2007 1:06 PM
Posted on April 3, 2007 13:06
There was nothing better than getting a ditto right off the machine! We would instantly put our noses to it! What a great memory!
Posted by Coolmommy2x | April 3, 2007 2:24 PM
Posted on April 3, 2007 14:24
So many kids sniffing fumes! That must be how we created an army of
drug-addled freaks in the 60's and 70's.....
I think there is a direct line to be drawn between sniffing mime paper and dropping California Windowpane.
And don't even get me going on sniffin' airplane glue or gas fumes at neighborhood stations(remember that clanging air hose)?
Posted by scott | July 17, 2007 2:07 AM
Posted on July 17, 2007 02:07
Hi~
In response to this blog--I have two mimeograph machines(excellent condition) in my possession (one being the crank type as described). Would anyone know of a place/person that would be interested in purchasing either/both of these? They belonged to my mom. Thanks
Posted by Nancy | July 24, 2008 2:36 AM
Posted on July 24, 2008 02:36
Ahhh yes, until you mentioned it I forgot all about the smell. But I indeed have been taken back to those days of the 1960's with the purple ink, damp pages and the delightful smell. But I was also one of those kids that ate paste in kidnergarten: using the wooden rulers and licking it clean. LOL
Posted by HistoryMakin | November 22, 2008 8:14 PM
Posted on November 22, 2008 20:14
I sold mimeograph and spirit machines for 35 years. There was a distinct difference. The mimeograph machine used a stencil and the machine used black ink. It could be used for ever in run lengths.The other machine was the Ditto or Spirit duplicator. This gave purple copies and used an alchol based liquid. It could cause the user to get extremely drunk and silly. This is the reason our education system has acted so strangly over the years. It was used for short runs of up to several hundred. Instead of a stencil it used a master which looked like a double sheet of paper with a carbon insert.
Have a Nice Day
Mr. Bill
Posted by Mr. Bill | January 31, 2009 12:05 PM
Posted on January 31, 2009 12:05
P.S. - I forgot to tell you that I sold these machines in Washington, D.C. and my big thrill was selling a portable mimeograph(RONEO) to the John F. Kennedy Campaighn Headquarters. Pierre Salinger took it with them on all their trips releasing press reports.
Mr. Bill
Posted by Mr. Bill | January 31, 2009 12:12 PM
Posted on January 31, 2009 12:12
Plese sent me price of machines.
Posted by Dan H. Frank | April 13, 2009 9:47 AM
Posted on April 13, 2009 09:47
Yeah, we called them ditto machines and they were used in our school! Some really large size ones too! That smell was a trademark! Many a tests were mad on these machines!
Posted by Rivers End | June 9, 2009 10:25 PM
Posted on June 9, 2009 22:25
My memories of school are loaded with mimeograph fumes, paste smell, crayons, wax paper, construction paper, scissors, rulers, and other such stuff.
Now we guts us laser printers and computers and yet . . . learning is down. Why, if I didn't know better, I would say there is no correlation between the tools we used to teach and actual teaching, it self. Something to ponder.
Posted by Scott Irv | June 10, 2009 5:27 PM
Posted on June 10, 2009 17:27
My personal theory? Sniffing mimeographs inoculated us against peanut allergies! :-)
Posted by Jeff Roberts | February 24, 2010 8:06 AM
Posted on February 24, 2010 08:06