Stencil printer
A matrix printer , spirit printer or blueprint printer , also known under the term Ormig process , is a form of hectography in which a very simple device is used for copying . With the die printer you can produce a limited number of prints (depending on the quality of the dies up to a maximum of 250 copies) from a specially made original - the die. It has been used in administrations, schools and educational institutions since the beginning of the 20th century. They were widely used until the end of the 1970s, but in the mid-1990s, stencil printers were increasingly displaced by the widespread introduction of photocopying technology .
functionality
Before printing, a template, the template, also called the spirit matrix, must first be made. It is a thicker (120–150 g / m²), smooth (coated) sheet of paper that is coated with the ink to be released at the printing points. To do this, you put the sheet of paper on a special foil that works similarly to carbon paper and you write or draw. However, the carbon copy is not written on a new sheet of paper, but on the back of the paper to be written on. This copy is thus mirror-inverted and serves as a template for printing. The film is coated with a special alcohol-soluble wax , and the pressure of writing causes it to stick to the back of the paper. By changing the foils you can produce multicolored matrices.
The die is clamped on a drum and rotated. The absorbent paper to be printed is pulled under the drum after it has been moistened wafer-thin with spirit using a fine-pored sponge . The alcohol loosens tiny particles from the die and the paper to be printed absorbs them - a print is created. A little wax paint is removed from the matrix with each pass.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages lie in the very simple, purely mechanical principle, in the relatively comfortable production of the matrices with the typewriter or by hand for earlier conditions, in the easy correction by scraping or cutting out and in the possibility of multi-color printing in just one operation. The consumption costs are limited to the foils, which are available in several colors (mostly blue), and the alcohol. The machines - mostly hand-operated - are reliable and durable.
The disadvantage is the limited number of prints that can be made per die - rarely more than 100, then the prints turn pale because the wax color layer is used up. It is not possible to make copies in the classic sense, all matrices have to be made by hand. The prints will fade over time.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ormig duplication on jugendopposition.de ( Federal Agency for Civic Education / Robert Havemann Society eV), viewed on March 15, 2017.