Page 152 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Unit 7: Translation and Reprographic Services

Spirit Duplicating Notes

The spirit duplication process is also referred to as the liquid or fluid process, hectograph,
Azograph, and “ditto.” The master can be prepared by thermography, typed, written, or drawn
on.
The master set contains a carbonlike covered transfer sheet which is placed face up behind the
master, creating a reverse image of the material to be reproduced. When the master is run, the
image is printed directly on paper that has been moistened with alcohol (the spirit). The paper
removes a portion of the dye from the reverse image on the master to print the correct image.
The reproduced copy is usually purple, though black, blue, red, and green master sets are
available.

Notes Reason for Rare use of Spirit Duplicating
Spirit duplicating is rarely used in business offices today for three reasons:

1. The copy is not as clear as that of other processes.
2. “Ditto” copies cannot be easily reproduced by copying machines because the print
is not dark or sharp enough.

3. The process is messy—dye from the transfer sheet and master is easily rubbed off on
typewriters, hands, and furniture.
The process, however, is economical and is therefore used by some educational institutions that
want to provide faculty and staff with a fast, economical means of duplicating. Masters are easy
to prepare, and the machine is small and easy to operate. Business use would be restricted to
internal memos that would not need to be copied further.

Stencil Duplication

The stencil process, also known as mimeographing, is more versatile than the spirit process.
Typically, the master for the stencil process is a wax-covered sheet-oil fibrous material, though
it may also be plastic or metal. The master may be prepared by using any of four different
methods—thermography, facsimile stencil copying, embossed plate printing, or direct cutting.
A thermal stencil master is prepared by using a thermographic machine (in the same way that a
thermal spirit master is made). The facsimile stencil imager or scanner is a separate machine,
which transfers the image from an original to the stencil. Embossed plate printing is a commercial
process, though some centralized reprographics departments have this capability. A directly
prepared stencil master is typed with a disengaged ribbon by using the stencil setting on the
typewriter. A sharp, pointed instrument called a stylus can be used to make non-typewritten
images on the master. When the master is “cut,” wax fibres are separated or opened, leaving the
fibre backing intact. The ink then flows through the fibre backing onto the paper and prints each
copy. The use of different coloured ink produces black or coloured print. The ink is available
either in liquid or paste form, and the paper has a rougher, more absorbent surface than that
used in the spirit process. Because of its more simplified, cleaner operations, businesses that
used the spirit duplicating process in the past are now using stencil duplicating. Stencil duplicating,
which has always been less expensive than offset, is now also competing in quality with the
newer tabletop offset duplicators.

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