Thomas Edison receives a patent for the mimeograph. It will dominate the world of small-press-run publication for a century.
The mimeograph machine (commonly abbreviated to mimeo) or stencil duplicator, along with spirit duplicators and hectographs were for many decades used to print short-run office work, classroom materials, and church bulletins. These technologies began to be supplanted by photocopying in the 1960s, although in mid-range quantities, mimeographs are still more economical than photocopiers. Photocopying and cheap offset printing have replaced mimeography almost entirely in developed countries. But mimeography continues to be a working technology in developing countries, since the machines are more energy efficient and no electricity is required. However, some slightly more modern machines used electricity for power.
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