Ye gods, carbon paper. Remember how it smudged up your hands, which then got fingermarks all over the original letter? I feel like I'm 100 years old.

The only thing worse was a contraption called a Gestetner. This was a primitive copying machine that used a stencil which you "cut" on your typewriter. If you made a mistake, you had to correct it with a red gluey substance that sealed up the damage. The old ones were hand-cranked (no, I am not making this up!), and greyish copies spewed out the other side. It was cheaper than buying a Xerox, supposedly. And let's not get into the Dictaphone. . .

Ye gods, carbon paper. Remember how it smudged up your hands, which then got fingermarks all over the original letter? I feel like I'm 100 years old.

The only thing worse was a contraption called a Gestetner. This was a primitive copying machine that used a stencil which you "cut" on your typewriter. If you made a mistake, you had to correct it with a red gluey substance that sealed up the damage. The old ones were hand-cranked (no, I am not making this up!), and greyish copies spewed out the other side. It was cheaper than buying a Xerox, supposedly. And let's not get into the Dictaphone. . .

Sorry for the duplication. The 'refresh' thing worked, but I've never heard of such a thing on any site! I don't think I've ever used mine. Talk about Gestetners.

@scavok - omg I had forgotten about the Gesteners. Yes, hand cranked and the paper had to be put in just right. Our teachers used it to make copies of tests. I loved the smell of the blue ink. In the early 60's my dad worked for 3M Copier. It was such a marvel that our teachers asked my dad to make copies.
Excel? Calculators? Nope, it was pencil & paper, except for the hand cranked "adding machines" used by accountants.
The "good ole day"s weren't so good in an office.

Remember using an emery board to correct?

And remember the round eraser with a brushy thing on it -- it kinda reminded me of pizza cutter.

There was also the pink eraser that you tried to keep "sharpened" into a point. Usually was no good after awhile. HEH.

Remember:

@scavok: you mean "The ditto machine" -- all the copies were in blue. and the copies smelled realll good. hehe

Thanks for the memories!

I loooved the smell of ditto copies!! One of my work study jobs in college was running one of those machines.

Isn't it funny that we don't use carbon paper anymore, but, we still use "cc" to indicate copies in computer "speak"?
I wonder how many computer generation people know what that cc stands for? Boy, am I a relic!!

oh carbon paper! The mess that they were and how about when you had to change the typewriter ribbon. You ended up with black fingers.

@madmensuze-I too remember using the round wheeled eraser with the brush. Then they finally came out with the slips of paper that you would set in the typewriter and type over your mistake to correct and then there was the messy white out that you got light headed everytime you opened the bottle.

All your comments take me on a memory lane stroll. Besides having to use (messy) carbon paper, and onionskin for copies, at one job I had to use an Olivetti typewriter and a dictaphone that was operated by a foot pedal. The dictaphone wasn't too bad but the typewriter was a terror! Each letter had its own spacing, i.e., lower case "m" was two spaces, but upper case "M" was three. I hated that machine!

When I changed jobs I was provided with an IBM selectric with a correction tape that ran in front of the regular ribbon. I thought I was in heaven. By that time the first Xerox copiers were out and bye bye carbon paper.

I remember those wheel-type erasers which were totally useless because they would dry out and harden and when you used it the paper would tear from the roughness.

You're right, 60s child, most young people using a computer don't know what "c.c." means and most adults don't realize what "b.c." is for, unless they've worked in an office type situation.

Everyone is so right about the nasty carbon paper...what a mess...esp. if making multiple copies....remember that waxy stuff in tiny jars called "Finger Pinkies" (or something like that?) that was supposed to take the smudges off and not leave any "residue" that would transfer to the papers? What a joke.

Is that Gestetner the same thing as a Mimeograph machine? Sounds similar. I agree, the ink smelled great, probably loaded with brain-rotting chemicals ~~~ which explains a lot.....DUH.....duh...

rozsie, I also remember getting a new Selectric with that correction ribbon....it was like heaven for sure. And, jeffe, Correctape (I think that's whatt it was called?) was also a great improvement!

We were the pioneers....just think....now it's all done on the computer and printed out!

Thanks for the great memories guys!

ha ha! I need some of that handy Correctape for my "whatt" up there....!

If anybody remembers a movie called "Up The Down Staircase" you can see a teacher using a hand cranked ditto machine in one of the scenes.

oh the sweet smell of that blue inked paper

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Sorry for the duplication. The 'refresh' thing worked, but I've never heard of such a thing on any site! I don't think I've ever used mine. Talk about Gestetners.internet fax service reviews

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Carbon paper is placed between the original and a the second sheet to be copied onto. As the user writes or types on the original, the pressure from the pen or typeface deposits the ink on the blank sheet, thus creating a "carbon copy" of the original document.
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