[GreenKeys] TTY Ribbons

[Randy and Sherry Guttery]

On 8/10/2011 5:46 AM, Bruce Gentry wrote:
> Does anyone remember the
> Addressograph-Multigraph office offset machines? They were small
> offset printing presses intended for single color small production
> printing in schools, hotels, stores,  and factories.
I kind of think you may be talking about a spirit duplicator 
- which indeed most commonly produced a purple print.  The 
process used a two-sheet "master" - which was either typed 
on or (if one pressed hard enough) - could be hand-written. 
The "face" of the bottom sheet contained a wax coating which 
contained an aniline purple dye. As the "image" was 
impressed on the top sheet (by typing or other means) the 
wax would transfer to the back forming a reverse image 
containing the purple dye.  Once the master was completed - 
it was mounted face-down (wax side out) on a drum of a 
duplicating machine (often miss-named mimeograph - which was 
actually a different process). The drum was rotated (either 
by hand or in some units - an electric motor) which rotated 
the master past a wick to "wipe" the dye containing wax with 
just enough alcohol to dissolve it a bit - and then to press 
against another piece of paper transferring the image. We 
still have such a duplicator we bought new for our church in 
1972 - which they quit using in the late 80s or early 90s - 
and we put into storage. The main thing most people remember 
about spirit duplicators - like many of us think about 
teletypes - is the smell... the type of alcohol they use has 
a most distinctive smell that stayed with the "copies" for 
quite some time...

-- 
randy guttery

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