Stencil

[Fish64]

Hello, I have a smith corona sterling that I’m SLOWLY working on to get it up to speed. I got a reprint of the manual for it and it talks about making a stencil….. can anyone explain to someone new to typewriters what that means and how it’s done?
Many thanks!

 

[JayMontana]

Stencil was used for preparation of mimeograph masters for later duplication. The typewriter setting stops the ribbon from rising while the type bar impacts the stencil sheet, without leaving ink.

 

[Fish64]

Thanks for the reply and the explanation. Please forgive my ignorance in this subject but is it a special “paper” ? And do the keys leave some kind of indent in the sheet? And how was it copied?. Thanks for your time
I appreciate it.

 

[phdezra]

@Fish64 You got it! And following up on @JayMontana comment.

Yes, stencil work used a special wax-coated sheet — not normal typing paper. When you set the machine to "stencil," the ribbon stays out of the way so the type slug actually cuts tiny holes through the wax layer. That's why it feels like you're just denting the sheet — because you kind of are.

Once you'd "typed" the whole page, you'd slap that stencil onto a mimeograph drum, ink would get pushed through those little perforations, and voilà — dozens or even hundreds of copies. (Basically the 1940s version of "Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V.")

So yes, the keys leave an indent — but instead of ink, they're making your master copy.

Ezra

 

[Fish64]

Thank you Ezra! That makes good sense to me.

 

[JayMontana]

As children, we Baby Boomers became addicted to the unique aroma of mimeograph fluid. Whole classrooms snorted the stuff when our teachers handed out assignments, tests or next week's lunch menus.

 

[Fish64]

I remember that!

 

[phdezra]

As children, we Baby Boomers became addicted to the unique aroma of mimeograph fluid. Whole

Yes!!!! I’m a bit younger, but know the scent. Can still smell it!