A photostatic copier is used to make copies by using a camera to create a negative or positive image duplicate. The first machine was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century but has been replaced largely by the modern copy machine.
Definition
According to The Columbia Encyclopedia, a photostat is defined as a "reproduction of any printed or simple black-and-white material, such as drawings or manuscripts, made by the Photostat, a photographic camera." Photostats are still used for high resolution copies and are used in publishing.
History
At the beginning of the 20th century, The Rectigraph Company and the Photostat Corporation both introduced camera-based photocopy machines. Both had large cameras, a developing section and used large light sensitive rolls of paper. The machine took a photo of the document, developed it and allowed it to dry. Each copy took about a minute to make.
Photostats Vs. Xerographs
Photostats were the accepted method of copying documents until the late 1950s. The Haloid-Xerox company began to use the a technology known as xerography that used electric charged paper to attract the toner and make the copies. Early machines made up to 400 copies per hour. It became the preferred method for mainstream copy making.
