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A copier is a machine for photographically reproducing copies of written, printed, or graphic material quickly and cheaply. The first copiers, introduced in the 1960's, were mimeograph machines and ditto machines. Mimeograph machines used waxed-paper stencils that were cut through by a typewriter. The stencil was wrapped around the drum of a manual or electric machine, and ink was forced through the cuts on the stencils to recreate the image. Ditto machines used carbon paper to transfer the image to a ditto master, which was then wrapped around the drum of the machine, with the inked side out. Photocopying technology eventually replaced these older methods, and now is the predominant means of copying documents in business, education, and government.
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