How To Be A Copycat

Above: Letter copying press © www.officemuseum.com.

In the days before photocopiers and scanners it was hard work trying to copy anything. It could also cause untold confusion when you were designing engines if the person doing the copying made any mistakes.

James Watt came up with a solution.

Watt invented a special type of ink. His engine drawings would then be written in this ink before being squeezed through a mangle, with a second piece of paper.

The ink would soak through the paper it was written on, onto the new paper, making a copy.

Fancy testing the theory?

First, write your message, in ink, on an ordinary piece of paper.

Next, place your message in between a piece of damp tissue paper and a piece of thin card.

Now, rub all over, very carefully, with the back of a spoon. You should have a copy!

Did it work well? Which is easiest - damp tissue or photocopier?