Hectograph roll

A hectograph roll was a variant of the hectograph used in the 1950s and 1960s for the reproduction of handwritten documents. The hectograph roll, also known as “bacon roll” in seafaring jargon, was used particularly frequently on board cargo ships because the format of the bills of lading was larger than the other copying processes tailored to DIN formats .

Procedure

The hectograph roll consisted of oil paper covered with a layer of gelatin . Forms , stowage plans , check books , freight papers and other lists and documents were labeled with a special hectography ink and placed with the writing on the layer side of the roll. The gelatine took a negative of the document, which could be unrolled as a positive onto white paper or a form.

50 to 60 copies were possible. The roll was transported from a full to an empty spool in a holder. Because the color slowly absorbed into the gelatin layer, a roll could be rewound and reused several times.

In the 1970s, the hectograph roll came out of use and was also replaced by photocopiers and documents that had been printed out several times in the seafaring industry .