…the site
Mimeographrevival.com is intended to be an information “clearinghouse” of sorts.
It’s (going to be) one-part library with every mimeograph document I find, available to you for download. Most advertisements and promotional materials are, as best I can tell, in the public domain. When relevant, I’m chasing down copyright holders and seeking permission to distribute or use materials for educational purposes. I’ll also be generating a physical collection so that this information exists in more-than-digital form that can be shared even when there’s no electricity or internet. Potentially, the collection will include mimeographed items on a variety of topics mostly determined by my personal interest and likely including nature writing, Western mystery traditions, creativity and creative writing, classical education, appropriate tech and DIY skills building.
It’s also (planned as) one-part resource directory, with links to folks who are engaged with these processes and machines and to sources for further education, experience, and supplies.
In addition, I’ll be documenting my learning curve as I figure out how to get a few machines working. Those of us trying to resuscitate the use of mimeograph machines are going to have to do our own repair work. The typewriter folks have a much easier time of it than we do – the repair expertise still exists; the specialized parts and tools, though no longer being manufactured in most cases, still exist in sufficient quantity and collectors have taken up small-scale manufacturing or tinkering to come up with things like rubber typewriter feet and certain tools. They still have repair manuals. They have a lively community that readily shares techniques and experience.
We’re not so fortunate in terms of printed materials (outside of a few collectors, I hope. I mean, I really hope someone has documentation somewhere!). We’re a scattered bunch of enthusiasts, though it looks like many are connecting up and generating fruitful collaboration. But we’re really out of luck when it comes to parts and supplies and we’re going to be winging it while peering over the shoulders of the antique typewriter and office supply/machine collectors. My intention here is to find out what to look for when scoping out machines in the marketplace, to show that a regular person with no special training can make a go at rehabbing the damaged and rundown machines we do find, and to come up with ways to use mimeographs in spite of the limitations we face. I’ll admit to a pipe dream of hoping to reinvigorate the manufacturing of mimeograph machines – or coming up with DIY builds to accomplish easy, small-scale printing for the average person, group, or community. But that’s a long way out.
See also the “navigating this site” section on the site’s main page for synopses of the various pages.
…the author
Hi, I’m Wendy, a generalist with a long-time love of self-publishing, writing, DIY experimentation, etc., etc. I have very slight mechanical experience: I helped my dad rebuild the steering on my first car (a 1968 Volvo 122S) and I repaired bikes for about half a year – but I’d say I have average aptitude mostly carried by a willingness to try. I still have to hire a handyman for more esoteric home-repair stuff, but at least I can unclog a sink, replace a faucet, change out a light fixture, and build bookshelves. I learned all that in the last five years.
About the time I graduated high school, computers were revolutionizing “desktop publishing.” I missed out on stencil and spirit duplicators though, other than getting worksheet dittos in elementary school. I bridged eras in printing – I wrote my first college papers on a word processor that was a cross between a typewriter, a dot-matrix printer, and a calculator with its miniscule LCD screen, played with desktop publishing in its early phases, but ended up learning letterpress printing because of my fascination with the technology of earlier times. Now, I’m still involved in publishing as an academic copyeditor.
After a long time pining for it, I finally I figured out that a letterpress printshop was not in my or my garage’s future (the amount and weight of the equipment! the cost! the skills I myself have forgotten!), I had a moment where I felt someone take me by my mental lapels, give me a shake, and say “mimeographs, you dingus!”
…the inspiration behind this
Progress ain’t what it’s cracked up to be: libraries are discarding books, even dumping or destroying them; over-reliance on electronics and digitalization create weak links and bottlenecks; and don’t forget about those multiple-week server outages (or stuck container ships) and shortages that affect global shipping and trade. And on top of it, skills are being lost as we collectively turn our gaze toward one speck in one direction of the horizon and forget to consider the options presented by the rest of the circle.
But I’m sure you know all that already.
When you’re standing on the far end of a dark age, I imagine, you might wish someone had thought to preserve some thing, or skill, or technique that would make life easier in your here and now, and you might be really grateful to find some little enclave that has preserved something important that would otherwise have been lost. Whether or not we’re on the near edge of such an age is less important than the recognition that there are some things worth preserving, that it doesn’t matter if the greater culture accuses you of “wanting to live in the past” (why is that anyone’s business anyway?), and that the first steps include collecting what still remains and sharing it widely.
So, that’s what I’m starting with.
15 replies on “About”
Hi, i’ve found a stock of almost 150 stencils Gestefax 200 and some spare Gestefax 100. I’ve been struggling a little to find out which machines can actually make use of these sheets since the thermal printer used in my studio (they use it for tattoo stencil) doesn’t work with them. Thanks in advance for your help
Hi, let me see if I can get Kevin over here to answer your question as he knows way more about things than I do 🙂
Ok! Kevin says, “Sure, the answer is that the person needs an electronic stencil cutter such as Gestefax, Geha or Roneoscan to image those stencils. (There are other brands of electronic stencil cutters, too, such as AB Dick, but they are not as common.). One might be able to find such a device, but it may no longer be functional and may require repair – such as replacement of tubes or repair to the electronics.”
I just wanted to post my gratitude for your efforts here, and compliment you on a beautifully written passage at the end of this page. As a fellow archivist, this speaks directly to me. I shared your wonderful site on Mastodon: https://typo.social/@typographica/110647408400228838
Stephen, thank you so much! Your comment has made me very happy (you get it!) as has your willingness to share my labor of love with others. Funny, until I started this project, I had no idea I had an archivist streak. Turns out that streak is a lot stronger, even, than the one that prompts me to print thins (oh, my poor languishing machines…). I’m glad you found Mimeograph Revival – welcome!
Hoping to use one of these someday, or get the original blueprint of such mechanism to do reverse engineering and build my own djjdjddj
i truly thanks your efforts to preserve this historial beauty🤝🏻🤍
Thanks for your supportive comment – if you don’t come across an old machine waiting to be loved, I hope you’ll take a look at some of the patents I’ve posted on the site (more to come, when I can) as they show the basic construction of different types of duplicators. Best wishes!
I have a Gestetner 300 (the model that used stencils) that needs a new home. Suggestions please.
Hi Karen, if you’d like me to post the information on the Mimeomania facebook page, let me know. The information that would help is your general location, the condition of the machine, and how much you want for it (or if it’s free). Thanks!
Hi there! This is fascinating. I was trying to describe mimeograph and spirit duplicators to a 30 year old and found this site. I’m astounded by how quickly a ubiquitous technology can disappear almost without a trace! A 30-something podcaster’s guest made reference to their mimeographed publications of the past and the podcaster had no idea what that was. Never heard the term before.
My mother was our church secretary through he 1980s and I would go in to help with running off (remember that phrase?) the weekly bulletin on a Gestetner mimeograph. I enjoyed it when it was working properly. I never used the stencil maker since my mom really liked that phase and so the stencils were done by the time I’d arrive. I think it was a Gestetner 1100? I liked that aspect. Bulk mailings? No so much. That was just a chore.
And who can forget the inimitable smell of the Ditto machine copies of school handouts!
Thanks for putting together all this together
Hi! Thanks for stopping by – glad the site is useful and yes, I hear you about how quickly we lose collective memory. Obviously, relative to this site, what concerns me a lot is our loss of skills, but that seems to be the fate of human development – we appear to be only able to “hold” some skills or technology so long as they’re not replaced or made obsolete by something else… aside from a few hangers-on here and there (ahem).
Good day,
I would like to extend my compliments to you for your excellent presentation on the fundamentals of duplication techniques.
I am not sure if anyone would be interested in further information regarding its application. From my historical “experimental reconstructions,” I have derived several insights from the time of duplication techniques. Here are a few examples:
– Why are hectography and the mimeograph process not the same?
– How are duplication stencils correctly processed with a typewriter?
– How are duplication stencils placed on the machine and supplied with duplicating ink, depending on the surface of the print drum?
– Why do stencils generally tear?
– How quickly can a page be duplicated with a mimeograph?
– What is the page capacity of a stencil?
– How long do duplications last?
Best regards
Hello
have you written on these topics? Perhaps you could do a guest post if you’d like to present the results of your experimentation.
Good day,
thank you for your response.
In answer to your question: Correct, there is a publication with exact source references, but it is not available in your native language. Although this was not mentioned by you, it is not about self-promotion, but rather about the voluntary provision of foundations from historical “experimental reconstructions.” In principle, due to the enormous effort involved, there needs to be appropriate interest. The content is accompanied by visual material, which also pertains to some of the source references. From time to time, documents from the 1940s are even faithfully reproduced using stencil printing methods or chemically duplicated on a larger scale.
Best regards
Hi again,
I see! Well, if you have the interest, inclination, and energy to make some of the non-English information you’ve come across available here, please let me know. I can host PDFs of the originals, if that’s within their fair use. Since this entire Mimeograph Revival project is funded out of my pocket, I cannot afford to pay you (or anyone) to translate, or to produce original content – it all has to be a labor of love, for me as well as anyone else. If you feel that the information you have access to would be useful to anyone who wishes to experiment with duplication techniques, you might consider what you are willing to contribute here – but because I cannot speak for you or what you can or might do with your time, energy, and resources, I’ll refrain from making any suggestions. That said, would you care to provide more details about the materials you are referring to?
Wendy