spirit duplication

The heading and first few lines of a memorandum, dated September 17, 1975, describing a new humanities course titled “Surviving Female.” The text is purple with rounded edges, lacking sharp lines; background is white. Detail from a copy of a 1975 memorandum duplicated using the spirit process. (Courtesy of J. Murrey Atkins Library, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, MS0044) n. (also spirit duplicating) a method of copying documents using a master sheet created with aniline dye, which, when placed on a rotary drum press and moistened with a methyl alcohol solution, transfers the text or image to paper

Notes

The spirit duplicator was first introduced in the early 1920s and continued to be widely used as a low-cost alternative to photocopiers in schools, churches, unions, and other small organizations until the 1980s. The alcohol solution used during its heyday caused the documents to carry a distinctive odor, although less fumy alternatives continued to be available for hobbyists and creators who used this method for producing media such as zines into the twenty-first century. Duplicates produced using this process are often referred to as dittos and the equipment that created them known as ditto machines due to the success of the Ditto Corporation in this market. One of the hallmarks of documents created using this method is the distinctive purplish hue that was typical (although not universal) of the aniline dye inks used. The ink is unstable in ultraviolet light and soluble in water.