Embedded Files
Storage box and printing pad of a Quick-Print Hand Duplicator. Also an advertisement from The Education Gazette, 1947, showing its use.
About the object
About the object
The Quick-Print hand duplicator is a manual printer. It was owned by teacher Mr Hicks and can print to about A5 size. It is also called a mimeograph.
In the time before computers, printers and photocopiers there were manual and then electric machines to make printed copies.
This hand-held printer could print drawings, maps, poems, notes and instructions for students as well as notes to parents.
It could print directly into students' exercise books or onto loose paper.
The instructions state it can do 300 to 500 copies with one inking although it was probably most often used for shorter print runs.
How it works
How it works
The curved surface of the printer has a padded fabric cover.
The fabric is painted with black printing ink.
A waxy stencil with 'holes' for letters and lines is attached over the inked pad.
The printer is pressed onto paper, rolling from one end to the other.
The ink in the pad is squeezed through the stencil, leaving a black print
Stencils
Stencils
The stencil on Mr Hicks' hand duplicator is a notice of a meeting of the Wollongong District Lodge of Instruction to be held on Monday 2nd May 1960.
On another of our hand duplicators is a hand-written description of Captain Cook's arrival at Kurnell. On another, the poem Vespers by A.A. Milne. These would have been printed into students' exercise books or on paper to paste in.
Significance
Significance
We have several mimeographs in our collection. The one that belonged to Mr Hicks is a complete Quick Print kit.
Mr Hicks carefully kept all the equipment and instructions that came with his Quick Print kit. He also kept written communication about the order and his receipts. This provides information about its use in schools.
The Quick Print hand duplicator provides an example of early printing or duplicating technology used in schools in the 1930s to 1960.
Object details
Object details
Date – 1936
Creator – purchased from Unique Suppliers, Marrickville
Place – NSW, Australia
Materials – timber, fabric
Dimensions – box – length 24.5cm x width 17cm x height 17cm. Printing block – length 21.5cm x width 14.7cm x depth 4.5cm
Look closer
Look closer
Hand DuplicatorYouTube | NSW Schoolhouse Museum of Public Education (2:12min) | Video transcript | Alternate video link
The printing pad of a hand duplicator. The pad is padded underneath and covered in fabric. Black ink was painted onto the surface then a stencil attached.
Map of Australia printed using a Quick-Print Hand Duplicator, 1936.This map was included in the kit to demonstrate one of the uses of the hand duplicator.
A typed stencil on a Quick-Print hand duplicator, tin of black printing ink, paint brush for applying ink and the underside of the Quick-Print box lid.The typed stencil on the duplicator is the poem Vespers by A.A. Milne. An acrostic poem on the underside of the lid promotes the benefits of the Quick-Print.
Think and wonder
Think and wonder
See
See
What is the duplicator made from?
How is it held?
Can you see how the stencil is held in place?
What do you notice that you can’t explain?
Think
Think
How does the duplicator sit in the box? How do you know?
If somebody made this today, what would be different?
What can you learn from examining the hand-held duplicator?
Why do you think this object is important?
Wonder
Wonder
What do you wonder about this object?
What else would you like to know about it?
Do
Do
Being a new and innovative technology of the 1930s and 40s, the advertisements of the Quick Print Hand Duplicator used persuasive language to encourage teachers to buy it.
The acrostic poem on the underside of the lid is an example of a persuasive text.
Read the poem on the lid – button below.
Compose an acrostic poem for a contemporary piece of technology or app that helps share knowledge in a classroom or learning setting.
Explore and connect
Explore and connect
Freshly made gelatine hectograph - jelly pad - used for printing.It was last used to print a map of Australia, shown by the blurry purple outline in the clear jelly.
Gelatin hectograph – jelly pad
Gelatin hectograph – jelly pad
A jelly pad - gelatine hectograph - is an early printing or duplicating technology. It was used for printing images directly into students’ exercise books. Today photocopiers are used to copy worksheets.
Jelly pads saved paper, were portable and relatively chemical free.
How does it work?
How does it work?
A reverse image is drawn using hectographic carbon paper.
The image or notes are placed onto the surface of the jelly. The jelly absorbs the image.
When a blank piece of paper or page of a book is gently pressed onto it the image is transferred to paper.
Cover of Copyrex Spirit Duplicator Instruction ManualCollection number 2000-992
Spirit duplicator, circa 1950
Spirit duplicator, circa 1950
This is the instruction manual for the manual Copyrex Spirit Duplicator used in schools to the 1970s.
How does it work?
How does it work?
A stencil made using shiny paper and hectographic carbon paper was placed onto the round drum with the carbon writing or image facing out.
Special non-absorbent copy paper was placed into the rectangular tray.
Duplicating spirit was poured into a tank on the machine. It smelt like methylated spirits.
The handle was turned – one rotation per piece of paper.
The stencil on the drum was reproduced onto each sheet of copy paper.
The most common colour of carbon was purple, producing copies with purple images and writing. Red, green and blue carbon was available but less commonly used.
The 1960s sewing and social studies books in our collection contain purple stencils printed on a spirit duplicator.
Ask an elderly relative or friend about the smell of purple stencils at primary school.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands of people using this site. Is, always was, always will be – Aboriginal land.
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