[GreenKeys] History of printing machines

[Harold Hallikainen]

On Tue, March 8, 2022 10:37 am, Jeffrey Golas wrote:
> Thought this might be of interest here, saw this on Reddit:
> https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/t9ls7m/hey_check_out_our_latest_infographics_about_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
>
> Jeff______________________________________________________________

Yes, that IS interesting!

Looking at some of the processes:

1. I had a small mimeograph machine that printed postcards. It was a
tabletop hand crank machine. I later got a mimeograph machine that would
do letter size copies.

2. In elementary school, I got a typewriter (
https://hallikainen.org/gallery3/index.php/keh/keh1/adg ). At school, they
used ditto machines to print class materials. The carbons were im the
trash cans. I'd collect the carbons and make my own ditto master (type on
paper with the carbon on the back putting backward inked type on the back
of the paper). I'd then make copies by rolling the "master" with another
piece of paper through the typewriter while brushing alcohol on the platen
roller. The alcohol would soak through the copy paper and pick up ink from
the master. The ditto carbons that I picked up out of the trash cans had
been used to make ditto masters. As such, they had readable text on them.
One teacher thought I was taking them to see test questions ahead of the
test.

3. In high school, I got a Multilith model 80 offset press, then a model
1250. A local print shop let me use their copy camera to make negatives of
the stuff I wanted to print. I'd tape the negatives into a masking sheet
to layout the page. The masking sheet then went over a photosensitive
plate, a sheet of glass out of an old TV was then put over the
combination. I then exposed the plate to UV with a sunlamp. Developed the
plate and onto the press it went. One of the projects run through this
process on the 1250 is at https://miramonte1969.org/MUDS1969.pdf .

Harold
https://w6iwi.org


4. At one time I tried gelatin printing with a tray of Jello. That did not
work very well.