In the office supply industry, it is rare to find a new use for a product once it has become obsolete. For example, thermal fax machines made their way to the office graveyard when inkjet and laser machines came out. The same could be said about many of the items that we sell and write about. But, spirit duplicators are one item that has experienced a total reincarnation.
Spirit duplicators, aka Ditto machines, were invented in 1923 and were the predecessor of the copy machine. You typed or wrote on the master sheet, which was reproduced by the machine using a rotating drum (some were manual and others electric). The generic name "spirit duplicator" derives its name from the solvents used by the machine, which were primarily alcohol. These chemicals gave the copies that characteristic smell (if you are too young to remember it, watch the classic scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, when entire class sniffs the freshly made dittos).
Today, the machines have made a resurgence with underground print houses and amateur press companies. However, the biggest user of these machines presently is the tattoo industry. So, while today's aromatic pages may not contain math or spelling tests, the A. B. Dick Company (creator of the Ditto brand name) should be proud that they are helping to reinvent the term "ink".
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