The process or technique of reproducing documents using a hectograph, a gelatin plate copying method that was widely used before modern photocopying.
From hectograph with the suffix '-y' (process or practice), describing the technology and methodology of gelatin-based document reproduction that flourished in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Hectography was revolutionary because it meant you didn't need a printing press anymore—teachers and small offices could make dozens of copies with just a gelatin surface and some patience, which is probably why those purple handouts smell so weird!
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