Duplication of documents was up until the innovation of lithography both laborious and expensive. Alois Senefelder (1771-1834) invented lithography (1798) when he explored more economical ways to print sheet music and manuscripts than cupper engravings, which besides being extremely expensive also demanded revers writing. 

With the autographic method of lithographic print (1798) Senefelder revolutionized print of both image and text in combination. Decades later Thomas A. Edison (1847 – 1931) invented an electric pen and printing-plate, a machine that eventually was developed into a technique more commonly known as mimeography. And in 1959 Xerox introduced the first photocopier. 

 These duplication techniques have resulted in several cultural artefacts, such as the comic album, the fanzine, risographic print and the modern tattoo-machine – all with their own aesthetic expression. While this generally is quite well known, the technologies behind are quite obscure.

This presentation will give an overview of the history of duplication, some of its results and possible futures.