The Mimeograph Machine

This device duplicates and produces copies by using a stencil pressed on paper with ink. They have been replaced by copiers and will soon be unavailable.

Mimeograph machine - 1956 WTHS yearbook. Teachers used these to duplicate handouts and papers they gave to students.

The mimeograph machine is the ancestor of the photocopier. It was much slower and depending on the model, could work without electricity.

The mimeograph's principle is simple. There is a stencil, which had to be typed by someone before copies could be printed. If a mistake was made while typing, a filler had to be applied to the cut stencil to "erase" the hole. Then the correction could be made. The stencil was attached to the machine, ink applied, and paper put in the paper tray. Using a hand crank or electrical power, copies were printed out one at a time.

Imagine using this instead of the photocopier! Hard to imagine isn't it?

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