Hectograph
Encyclopedia
The hectograph or gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a printing
process which involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin
or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame.
dyes for making the master copy came in the form of ink
or in pens, pencils, carbon paper and even typewriter ribbon
. Hectograph pencils and pens are sometimes still available. Various other inks have been found usable to varying degrees in the process; master sheets for spirit duplicator
s have also been pressed into service. (Unlike a spirit duplicator master, a hectograph master is not a mirror image. Thus, when using a spirit duplicator master with a hectograph, one writes on the back of the purple sheet, using it like carbon paper to produce an image on the white sheet, rather than writing on the front of the white sheet to produce a mirror image on its back.)
Copies
After transfer of the image to the inked gelatin surface, copies are made by pressing paper against it. When a pad ceased to be useful, ink could be sponged from the top of the gelatin and the pad reused for the next master. A grey-colored, thick, absorbent paper pad was supplied to cover the gelatin surface for storage. This also removed ink from the surface, but took many hours to do so. Care needed to be taken that the gelatin surface was kept clean, and not damaged by one's fingernails during duplicating.
The gelatin process produced print runs of somewhere between 20 and 80 copies, depending upon the skill of the user and the quality of the original. At least eight different colors of hectographic ink were available at one time, but purple was the most popular because of its density and contrast.
s. Prisoners-of-war at Stalag Luft III
(the scene of The Great Escape) and at Colditz Castle
during World War II used an improvised hectograph to reproduce documents for a planned escape attempt
.
The Communist authorities in the Jaingsu - Anhui Border Area of China used the process for postage stamps in November 1948, produced in sheets of 35, with 13 $50 values, six $100, twelve $200, two $300 and two $500 values.
It has also been used, though not very extensively, as an artistic medium in printmaking
. The Russian Futurists
used it for book illustrations, and the German expressionist Emil Nolde
made four hectographs.
Stephen King, in his book, "On Writing" talks about how he and his older brother Dave used the process to create their newspaper, "Dave's Rag."
It also was used in professional situations; in Macy's
advertising department during the 1950s and 1960s, full-page newspaper ad layouts were drawn with hectograph pencils and then duplicated on a hectograph to make file copies for future reference. Before the popularization of spirit duplicator
s and the mimeograph, there were mechanized hectography machines which used a drum, rather than a simple flat tray of gelatin.
In the final chapters of The Pothunters
by P. G. Wodehouse
the major characters use a jellygraph to produce a school magazine at very short notice. Wodehouse assumes his reader knows exactly what a jellygraph is and alludes to its being unattractive: "This jelly business makes one beastly sticky. I think we'll keep to print in future."
George Orwell
's Keep the Aspidistra Flying
(1936) describes a somewhat more subversive schoolboy publication:
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
process which involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin
Gelatin
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...
or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame.
Process
The special anilineAniline
Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H5NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the prototypical aromatic amine. Being a precursor to many industrial chemicals, its main use is in the manufacture of precursors to polyurethane...
dyes for making the master copy came in the form of ink
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
or in pens, pencils, carbon paper and even typewriter ribbon
Typewriter ribbon
A typewriter ribbon is an expendable module serving the function of transferring pigment to paper in various devices for impact printing. Such ribbons were part of standard designs for hand- or motor-driven typewriters, teleprinters, stenotype machines, computer-driven printers and many mechanical...
. Hectograph pencils and pens are sometimes still available. Various other inks have been found usable to varying degrees in the process; master sheets for spirit duplicator
Spirit duplicator
A spirit duplicator was a low-volume printing method used mainly by schools and churches. It was also used by members of science fiction fandom and early comic book fandom to produce fanzines...
s have also been pressed into service. (Unlike a spirit duplicator master, a hectograph master is not a mirror image. Thus, when using a spirit duplicator master with a hectograph, one writes on the back of the purple sheet, using it like carbon paper to produce an image on the white sheet, rather than writing on the front of the white sheet to produce a mirror image on its back.)
Copies
After transfer of the image to the inked gelatin surface, copies are made by pressing paper against it. When a pad ceased to be useful, ink could be sponged from the top of the gelatin and the pad reused for the next master. A grey-colored, thick, absorbent paper pad was supplied to cover the gelatin surface for storage. This also removed ink from the surface, but took many hours to do so. Care needed to be taken that the gelatin surface was kept clean, and not damaged by one's fingernails during duplicating.
The gelatin process produced print runs of somewhere between 20 and 80 copies, depending upon the skill of the user and the quality of the original. At least eight different colors of hectographic ink were available at one time, but purple was the most popular because of its density and contrast.
Advantages
Hectography, requiring limited technology and leaving few traces behind, has been deemed useful both in low-technology environments and in clandestine circumstances where discretion was necessary. In the earlier 20th Century, the process lent itself to small runs of school classroom test papers, church newsletters and science fiction fanzineFanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s. Prisoners-of-war at Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
(the scene of The Great Escape) and at Colditz Castle
Colditz Castle
Colditz Castle is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. Used as a workhouse for the indigent and a mental institution for over 100 years, it gained international fame as a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for...
during World War II used an improvised hectograph to reproduce documents for a planned escape attempt
Colditz Castle/List of Colditz Castle escape attempts
Below is a list of attempts to escape Oflag IV-C, the famous prisoner-of-war camp.-1941 escape attempts:-1942 escape attempts:-1943 escape attempts:-1944 escape attempts:-External links:...
.
The Communist authorities in the Jaingsu - Anhui Border Area of China used the process for postage stamps in November 1948, produced in sheets of 35, with 13 $50 values, six $100, twelve $200, two $300 and two $500 values.
It has also been used, though not very extensively, as an artistic medium in printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
. The Russian Futurists
Russian Futurism
Russian Futurism is the term used to denote a group of Russian poets and artists who adopted the principles of Filippo Marinetti's "Manifesto of Futurism"...
used it for book illustrations, and the German expressionist Emil Nolde
Emil Nolde
Emil Nolde was a German painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and is considered to be one of the great oil painting and watercolour painters of the 20th century. He is known for his vigorous brushwork and expressive choice of colors...
made four hectographs.
Stephen King, in his book, "On Writing" talks about how he and his older brother Dave used the process to create their newspaper, "Dave's Rag."
It also was used in professional situations; in Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
advertising department during the 1950s and 1960s, full-page newspaper ad layouts were drawn with hectograph pencils and then duplicated on a hectograph to make file copies for future reference. Before the popularization of spirit duplicator
Spirit duplicator
A spirit duplicator was a low-volume printing method used mainly by schools and churches. It was also used by members of science fiction fandom and early comic book fandom to produce fanzines...
s and the mimeograph, there were mechanized hectography machines which used a drum, rather than a simple flat tray of gelatin.
In the final chapters of The Pothunters
The Pothunters
The Pothunters is a 1902 novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was Wodehouse's first published novel, and the first of several school stories, this one set at the fictional public school of St...
by P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
the major characters use a jellygraph to produce a school magazine at very short notice. Wodehouse assumes his reader knows exactly what a jellygraph is and alludes to its being unattractive: "This jelly business makes one beastly sticky. I think we'll keep to print in future."
George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Keep the Aspidistra Flying, first published 1936, is a socially critical novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is Gordon Comstock's romantic ambition to defy worship of the money-god and status, and the dismal life that results....
(1936) describes a somewhat more subversive schoolboy publication: