Hectograph

" Old vs New"

Javon Trusty|Science Project|November 5, 2015
Photocopiers and laser printers are staple pieces of equipment in any office
setting. Not that long ago, all copies were done by use of carbon paper or tedi
ous recopying by hand. This modern invention that is so taken for granted in tod
ay's fast paced society was a long time in coming. The first photocopy, made of
moss spores, gave way to several different types of polymer infused toners. The
use of this innovation has allowed not only cheap, clean copies, but also a meth
od by which the origin of these copies can be traced.
Before the advent of the photocopying machine, simple and cheap copying
methods were both messy and crude. One of the earliest forms was the hectograph.
The master copy was written on a piece of paper with a special ink. The master
was pressed faced down on the tray of gelatin which dissolved and absorbed the i
nk. Most blank sheets of paper were pressed on the inked gelatin and a few infer
ior copies could be transferred this way.
After the hectograph came the ditto process. This was where a special in
k impression was made on the back of the master sheet. This master was mounted o
n a drum in a machine like a small printing press. On each rotation of the drum,
methyl alcohol dissolves a bit of the ink and it is transferred to a blank shee
t of paper. This process only made about twenty-five copies. About the same tim
e, the Gestetner process was also employed. This technique consisted of typing,
or writing with a stylus on a special wax-impregnated paper. The wax was removed
where the typewriter struck it, making the paper porous to ink. Again, a small
rotary printing press was used. It was messy, but it was able to produce many co
pies.
The birth of the modern photocopying came from a physicist/ patent attor
ney named Chester Carlson. Carlson realized that if the image of an original doc
ument were projected onto a photoconductive surface, current would only flow in
the areas that light hit upon. The print areas were dark and therefore did not a
llow any current to flow. Carlson then began to experiment with this idea, in th
e context of creating electrostatic copies. (Xerography) The first "photocopy" w
as nothing like the clean Hectograph.
It has become dramatically easier to make copies of printed materials since th
e introduction of the Xerox 914 copier in 1959. Since that time, users of printe
d materials have been busily making copies of these materials with this and subs
equently introduced copying machines, conveniently and at low cost. The copies a
re generally not of as high a quality as the printed originals, but they are ofte
n much more convenient.
Performance - The accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known s
tandards of accuracy, completeness, cost, and speed.
Performance Rating - A procedure for determining the value for a factor which wi
ll adjust the measured time for an observed task performance to a task time that
one would expect of a trained operator performing the task, utilizing the appro
ved method and performing at normal pace under specified workplace conditions.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, technology has developed day by
day, more and more people are using technological devices. Sometimes we may fee
l we cannot live without technology. We need medical devices for doctors, phones
to contract each other easily, TV or radios to get news everyday. If we don t rel
y on technology or we don t develop and invent technology, our life may become har

der and primitive. Now, more and more people are using technological devices for
personal, for going outside, we using phones or laptops to get contract whit ot
hers or go on internet. At home, we may have a computer, people can use it to go
on web, send E-mail, play games, do research, study and so many things.
And we may have a TV or radio at our drawing room, we can get news on real time
conveniently. There are also so many companies and public facilities using techn
ological devices, for example, in office, we may have many computers for office
worker, a server for company websites. In library and office, there may have som
e printer and duplicator for public use. As we see more and more people using te
chnology, it shows that people need them. Because technology makes our life easi
er and work more efficient. For a example, now we can watch TVs, listen to radio
or go to webs for getting news but not reading news paper.
What s more, TVs, radios and webs could release news quicker and easier than news
paper. In general, above points shows that people using technology and they need
s it. So people have to reliant on technology and i personally believe the old w
ay of copying is more cost efficient in todys society. And with that you get up
to 100 copies or more using the hectograph then you will get out out ink cartri
dges you spent between $15.00 and up to do maybe 20 to 30 copies due to the smal
l amount of ink they carry.
Mikhail Ivanovich Alisov designed the first duplicating machine (Hectograph) in
the year of 1869. Alisov called his invention Poligrafiia. Alisov was a Russian
Inventor in the fields of printing and typograph. He distributed his work to t
he public to view
his work and pateneted his invention in thei name in 1879. Alisov invention was
so popular it was used during World War 2 to reproduce documents. China also
used the process for postage stamps in 1948 producing sheets of 35. Russian wri
ters used the Hectograph as an artictic medium in printmaking for illustations.
the famous Stephen King also wrote in a book he published "On Writing" he talks
about how he and his older brother used the process to create their own newspap
er. The Hectograph became very popular in advertising during the 1950's and 196
0's and the department stor Macy's used the process as well to create advertisin
g for full page newsppers.
Alisov other works include an original built typewriter with 240 letters on the
year 1870. The typewriter had working apeed of 80 - 120 charcters per minute.
He also invented a photomechanical method for making music typesetting. For hi
s invention he was awarded medals of the Russian Technical Society and of the Pa
ris and Philadelphia world's fair.
The Hectograph process is a master copy written or typed with a special ink. Th
e master is then placed face down on a tray containing gelatin and pressed gentl
y for a minute or two, with the result that most of the ink transferred to the s
urface of the gelatin. Gelatin was used because it's moisture kept the ink from
drying. Copies were made by pessing blank sheets of paper onto the gelatin. E
ach time a copy was made some of the ink was removed from the gelatin which cons
equently made more and more copies lighter. In practice up to 50 copies could b
e made from one master.
My opinion is using the Hectograph VS a Copying Machine has it advantages and d
isavantages: it's faster to use a copying machine but cheaper to use the Hectog
raph. The Hectograph process was messy due to having to maintain a cool tempera
ture to keep the gelatin from melting; with the copying machine you just walk aw
ay. The Hectograph copies do produce more neater and more readable copiesverus
a copying machine running on E with ink the copys fade out with unreadable text
or blank text altogether. Unfortunately the Hecktograph was patented for many up
grades due to the unattractive and sticky process and was replaced with better w

ays to duplicate. Some duplicating devices that took it's place was the Mimeogr
aph, Rectigraph (camera photocopying machine), Roller copiers, Stencil Duplicato
r, Roneo Copier ( glycerin solution used), pinting presses, Papyrograph and the
Stygmograph ( copying Pen). While the Hectograph process is obsolete for pintin
g on paper it still has uses today for making tattoos on human skin and tattoo a
rtists use the Hectograph pencils to draw pictures on paper and the transfer the
m to the skin. It is lso used to create acrylic paint prints. In conclusion for
small print jobs the old way is effective and low cost but if the job requires
more than 50 sheets to be copied the new way is the better way to go.
References
Reviewed Work: Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition. Vo
l. 1. by Jean Paradise
Review by: Fritz T. Epstein
Slavic Review
Vol. 35, No. 4 (Dec., 1976), pp. 724-727
Published by: Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
DOI: 10.2307/2495661
The Encyclopedia Britannica
The Scientific American cyclopedia of receipts, notes and queries
by Hopkins, Albert A. (Albert Allis), 1869-1939, ed
Published 1901
Topics Workshop recipes, Industrial arts
A Good Set Of Instructions For Making A Hectograph From The August 1970 Issue Of
Boys Life Magazine.