Looking for a "Ditto" brand Spirit Duplicator

[michaelman2]

Hi All,

I am looking for a Ditto machine. The Ditto brand that was produced by Bell & Howell until the 1980s. If you guys happen to come across one of these (many times confused with a Mimeograph) please shout at me....

Many thanks!

Mike[this post was last edited: 7/4/2011-09:10]

 

[lordkenmore]

Good luck finding a machine!

Just to add some more clarity, since Ditto and Mimeograph get mixed up: Ditto is the process that (usually, but not always) had purple print, and used a master that used a special carbon paper on the back, and copies, when fresh, had a chemical fume quality that was popularly found enjoyable. Mimeograph was an ink based stencil system.

 

[danmantn]

Use to love those cold, fresh pages in school...and the machines too! I always wanted to use one, but never got the chance...by the time I started doing those kinds of tasks in the late 80s, Xerox copiers were mostly in use.

 

[jetcone]

yes

we used to tale big whiffs before writing our exams,delicious stuff

 

[michaelman2]

Lord Kenmore, you are correct, Mimeograph used a stencil that was "cut" and the ink forced through the cuts. Ditto/Spirit Process uses a master that has a purple dye that is transferred to the paper that has been moistened with the solvent from the machine. Ditto was a brand.

 

[58limited]

Wish I could help you, I had one in college as a collector piece but sold it in a garage sale - too bulky to keep moving it whenever I moved.

 

[kenmore58]

I often joke that the reason I went into teaching was to get to use the ditto machine and smell the fluid. And the reason I left teaching to become a court reporter was the fact that ditto was replaced by Xerox!!

Mike, you may want to check. I'm not sure that you can even buy the spirit master fluid any more. I will keep my eyes open for one, though.

Ron

 

[michaelman2]

Hey Ron,

Yes supplies are available...I just want/need a machine...Thanks!!

 

[kenmore71]

Third world still uses it

It is my understanding that the "ditto" system is still in relatively wide use in third world countries where electricity is still only sporadically available. Ditto masters can still be produced with a ball point pen or manual typewriter and then run by the hand cranked machine.
I remember fondly the dittos from elementary school in the '70s. By the time I was in high school in the '80s the xerox machine had taken over.

 

[michaelman2]

Kenmore, you are correct.....Now I need to find one.

 

[rp2813]

Looking for a "Ditto" brand Spirit Duplicator

How badly do you want one? 

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[rp2813]

Here's a different make.  There's probably no way to tell if there's anything wrong with it from the pictures, but if nobody steps up for the BIN price, you could possibly contact the seller after the ad expires and offer less.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[autowasherfreak]

"we used to take big whiffs before writing our exams, de

I remember doing this in grade school through jr. high.

 

[tolivac]

7 grand for a "Ditto" machine???think that seller has been sniffing too much Ditto juice!!

 

[michaelman2]

rp2813 and tolivac....uh, agreed...$ 7K ...I had seen that several weeks ago and literally laughed out loud.

I see the machines pop up on Ebay at times, but thought that with the widespread broadcast in here, that Craigslist might be check by some of our members and I could find one that way.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Mimeograph vs. ditto

What many don't realize is that these systems were in use as early as the 1870's-1880's!

Chuck

 

[michaelman2]

Hey Chuck, yes...the Mimeograph does date back a good bit.....an early process that looked like the typical spirit /Ditto process was the Hectograph..it was a gelatin tray that used the same carbon/ink/dye as the Ditto process....very primitive.

I am still looking for a Ditto Machine....help!! I have a project where I need to use one and would like to also own one if possible.