Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami
Right, I remember them being called "ditto" as well, and that there were different colors available (though purple was the most common). This was the process that used a sheet of waxy stuff that would be impressed on a transfer sheet by typing or with a pen/pencil/stylus, then the transfer sheet would be used to run off copies onto paper by using a solvent to transfer the ink to paper. I also remember stencils, which took a special typewriter and sort of oozed ink from a central drum through the letter holes punched in the stencil material. What was mimeographing, then?
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The latter, using stencils, was mimeography. There were also "electrostencils", which could scan and produce a stencil from line art, though some folks got adept at drawing directly on a stencil with a stylus. Mimeography was an art form among SF fans.
There's a wonderful SF fan fable called "The Enchanted Duplicator", written by the late Walt Willis, and loosely based on Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Jophan gets a visit from the Spirit of Fandom, and is inspired to make the journey from his home in Mundania to Fandom, where he can ascend the High Tower of Trufandom to the summit, find the Magic Mimeograph, and publish the Perfect Fanzine. He must avoid various temptations like offset printing (way too expensive at the time) as he proceeds on his quest.
Fanzines are still a vital activity in SF fandom, but technology has wrought changes. There are still folks with working mimeographs and the skills to use them, even though copiers are pervasive and inexpensive enough to take the place of mimeographs. But the costs of actually mailing paper publications are prohibitive, and most such things tend to be published electronically, often as PDFs for those who want to print their own.
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Dennis