The Secret Life of the Photocopier - Remastered

I've been in my workshop making things ever since, and the covid lockdown was the perfect time to make some new videos, trying to pass on some of what I've learnt. So if you're interested do try my new 'Secret Life of Components'
These old films were remastered and upscaled by Norman Margolus from a 1987 PAL tape made directly from the 16mm print, using machine learning software from Topaz labs. Commentary added in Feb 2021.
View all 18 episodes of the series and read about their background on my website:
www.timhunkin....
The videos are also here @ / timhunkin1

[@urgon6321]

A friend of mine refilled his toner cartridges at home once. He spilled some magenta toner on the floor, and decided to vacuum it. The toner went through the filter, over and around the hot motor and out the vent on the vacuum cleaner. And settled on EVERYTHING in the room, including my friend...

[@cambridgemart2075]

Yes, that's why copier engineers have special vacuum cleaners!

[@TheAlps36]

He should've watched the vacuum cleaner episode 😁

[@FreeWhilly734]

Should try flushing it down the toilet it's very funny. Just sits there dry as a bone and won't sink no matter how many times you flush.

[@computer_toucher]

Ah, I wish good luck for his lungs :/

[@frankowalker4662]

The highlight of this episode is Rex wearing that wig. LOL.

[@transkryption]

i had to do a double take on the thumbnail rhat it wasnt a sophisticated Chris Morris troll!

[@theafro]

Only Rex would happily melt a saucepan of sulphur in his kitchen! probably not the smelliest thing to ever happen there either!

[@starfox6335]

Thank you, Tim. You have no idea how much respect I have for your efforts to produce these shows.

[@ncot_tech]

I remember being at school getting worksheets in lessons printed in purple from those Banda duplicator machines.

[@frankowalker4662]

I loved the smell of those worksheets in school. :)

[@5roundsrapid263]

I remember them, and even remember our teacher rolling them out. In North America they were known as “Ditto”.

[@BM-jy6cb]

Yes! Purple and pink copies - often with singed edges! I remember college teachers stood over them cranking the handle as late as the mid 80's

[@AlRoderick]

That stuff was awful. They were still using it when I was a kid in the '80s and '90s, didn't switch over to photocopying everything until I was in high school and even then sometimes I'd get a photocopy of an old ditto worksheet. I had undiagnosed learning disabilities and I feel like I would have done a lot better in school if I've been able to read things better.

[@Culturedropout]

@@5roundsrapid263 Mimeograph machines.

[@hightechstuff2]

I watched this episode in the early 90's and became a copier technician for 20 years.... I wouldn't recommend it.

[@SpacewolfDan]

good job i bet :)

[@hightechstuff2]

@@SpacewolfDan It was good money for a while. They always broke down. A machine that runs on dust, that hates dust.

[@SpacewolfDan]

@@hightechstuff2 wow. very odd combination and high voltages

[@reacey]

This made me chuckle

[@mtcruse]

Same here. Still in the business, however I don't pound on screwdrivers any longer. I just manage the software that manages the copier.

[@LatitudeSky]

This show was extremely valuable. Ended up working in the print industry for a long time and was often the only person who had any idea how toner-based print systems actually worked. Xerox was an amazing company, literally inventing the future. True genius engineers. Unfortunately management threw away or gave away, or worse, nearly every single thing. If they hadn't mismanaged everything, they might have been bigger than Apple or Google.

[@yanikkunitsin1466]

Oh yea, legendary Xerox's PARC. I remember reading some Apple emploee reminiscing about meeting between Jobs and Gates after the release of Windows 1.0 Jobs accussed Gates of stealing GUI and icon-based interface, on which Gates responded "No Steve, we both had a neigboughour called Xerox, and when I broke into his house to steal a TV I've noticed you've already done it and also took his VCR" (I think VCR was an allusion to mouse)

[@cambridgemart2075]

In 2012, Xerox sold most of their R&D to an Indian Company, HCL; that basically shut down their R&D in the UK and in Rochester, NY. Very sad as my time at Xerox, prior to the sell-out, was very enjoyable.

[@Paiadakine]

The more I learn about Xerox the more I feel bad for the company missing so many opportunities through bad decisions.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

@@cambridgemart2075 Sorry to hear. They did the same at Kodak. It affected my brother so much that he committed suicide. My brother had a Aeronautical Engineering degree from Syracuse University. He built speed boats by hand. Genius. Why does management at American companies treat their talent like crap?

[@mjstecyk]

@@OneAdam12Adam money mostly

[@SianaGearz]

There's a saying: "Anyone can build a bridge that stands; but it takes an engineer to build a bridge that barely stands". Modern machines are increasingly sharply engineered.

[@gregebert3103]

While on the subject of copies, I have to say the 'Secret Life of Machines' has a very high replay value. I've watched the same episodes many times over the years and I still learn something each time. So, watching again IS NOT redundant. Oh how I wish BBC would hire Tim to do a new series.....

[@markpitt5248]

My partner still uses cyanotype (blueprinting) as an artistic process and teaches other people how to do it. It’s a basic form of contact photography and the results are impressive considering you can do it with no specialist equipment by using the UV rays of a sunny day.

[@mikemclennan8917]

Canon improved on Xerox to produce a cheap laser printer engine and it was that which was used by HP and Apple in their laser printers. Another example of Xerox not capitalizing on its own inventions.

[@cambridgemart2075]

Correct, and that's why some toner catridges fit many different makes of machine as the Canon print engine was so widely used.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

You're omitting part of the story. That's dishonest.

[@cambridgemart2075]

@@OneAdam12Adam Why don't you tell us the whole story then?

[@compu85]

Yup! The CX engine was the first use of an all-in-one toner cartridge. It lead to small desktop copiers, and the desktop laser printer! Canon went to Xerox to get them to use their tech and be their US sales arm, and they turned them down.

[@jerril42]

The company I worked for had multi colour copiers. It could print one of the colours. The red was very similar to a $50 Canadian note. The face of the bill was one colour. A caretaker took the opportunity make a copy and wax it on to the floor.

[@kiwitrainguy]

Ah, like the old trick of gluing a coin to the floor.😉😊😄

[@crystalstevens4638]

I'm beyond happy that I've rediscovered Tim after all of these years. He really did make learning fun & interesting!

[@vibesmom]

Secret Life- still on my top 5 favorite tv shows of all time. I have them all on a beat up vhs and pull them out often. Thank you Tim, I’m still learning from this series.

[@davidfrank1344]

So much respect for Rex cooking up sulphur in his own kitchen!

[@1pcfred]

Rex looked like he was enjoying himself entirely too much.

[@djsherz]

Tim, shame you never made that show about photography, I think a lot of us on here would have enjoyed seeing that!

[@PibrochPonder]

That’s a good point

[@tommcewan7936]

@@PibrochPonder could probably do a follow-on episode about cinematography, too.

[@mearcat]

One Thing you didn’t mention was the oil applied to the fusor rollers to stop the paper from sticking to them. Some inexperienced copier operators would fill the toner hopper with fusor oil instead of toner . This happened twice in my job as a copier technician. What a mess it made. Thanks again for these shows.

[@mtcruse]

nothing like nice, thin, slippery silicone oil!

[@blazertundra]

I worked at a place with several different types of print machines. Someone mixed the color oil with the monochrome oil and suddenly paper started getting wrapped around the color printer's fuser. The techs did not appreciate having to do an oil change on a printer...

[@PBeringer]

That Japanese Canon ad is an artefact of the absolute pinnacle of Japanese tech advertising. Absolutely classic stuff! (I could listen to that jingle all day.) It's an amazingly small colour copier being advertised for the time, and it's surprisingly cheap. Somewhat different, but I can remember the absurd prices of colour laser printers when they first became available to consumers. I can remember the odd machine intended for offices cracking AUD20k in early 90s dollars! Finding and reliving my childhood through these series on KZbin may have just saved my thesis, too. In that kinda nothing period between passing "probation" and submitting, I've had times where life's meaningless minutiae have done a decent job of sucking the inspiration out of me and lost momentum. When I found (and binged) these, it reignited the scientific flame that the show first struck over 30 years ago. No way would I be studying at the level I am had I not been exposed to these (well, initially; I then exposed myself ad nauseam, literally wearing out a VHS copy of all episodes). So, thank you, Tim. Next time I'm in the UK, I want to try to find and play every one of your arcade machines. Haha.

[@jcobbett1958]

WOW! This was a blast from the past for me. I sold copiers back in the early 80's, mostly we tried to lease them as opposed to cost per copy basis, as this attracted a huge commision payment. The money made on these was rude! I also remember seeing the first Canon colour copier at a trade show. Strangely enough, the first thing we tried to copy was a gold omega watch that had a second hand on it. The copy came out with four second hands of cyan, yellow, magenta and black, apart from that, it wasn't a bad copy!. Also, if I am not mistaken, you had to be licenced and registered to have use of a colour copier.

[@KirstyTube]

Yeah now there is a yellow dot pattern on every colour copy that can link any output back to an individual machine. Shocking but true, you can see it with a modest magnifying glass.

[@daveyr5462]

@@KirstyTube There's a script you can get that adds yellow nonsense to the printjob to deal with the machine ID code print problem, it was developed at some German university for journalists if they want to leak information. There's an inbuilt thing in the firmware that if you use a EURION-coded banknote the printer and scanner refuses to copy it. Same with Photoshop but if you use GIMP you can get around the graphics software limitations but there's no real way to get around it at hardware level except use an old parallel scanner from the 90s if you must forge banknotes and the shopkeepes in your town are very wet behind the ears. If you have an important document you don't want copied there's a EUORION script you can run to encode your document to prevent it being scanned. Kyocera also include a document anticopy pattern that you can use too to stop anything being copied or forged, handy if printing share certs for a small business say or if you're a school or university printing certificates which works very well.

[@fixman88]

@@KirstyTube You may be referring to a Eurion Pattern. If you attempt to color copy anything (like money) that has that pattern on it it will recognize it and refuse to copy it.

[@PBeringer]

@@fixman88 That's bloody fascinating. Thank you.

[@kiwitrainguy]

When I got my colour copier/scanner/printer in 2009 one of the first things I scanned was bank notes.@@fixman88

[@tigermothproductions6838]

I work in shipbuilding, and it's always interesting talking to the old boys in office the about how they used have to painstakingly draw everything by hand, then send it off to be copied. Any mistakes had to be scraped off with a razor blade and re-drawn. Despite that, the company was so cheap they gave people biros rather than proper drafting pens. I have encountered and used some blueprints, usually from when old yard infrastructure was installed in the early 20th century. The one that gets me though is how they used to copy and cut intricate plate parts for ships - where the curvature is of course critical. Gone were the days of mold lofts and wooden templates, this was the 20th century! They'd use a tower, with a spotlight facing down and a photographic negative of the part to be produced. That'd project the part onto a steel plate - where a man with an acetylene torch would cut the thing out by hand. Given the tens of thousands of steel parts that go into even a small ship, it must have taken an age - or, in fact, thousands of people. These days it's all CNC cut from the CAD model; the generation before me was the last to use drawing boards, but I reckon now with the aid of a PC, I'm probably doing the work of 20-30 people would have done 100 years ago.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

That's fascinating information Thank you!

[@mearcat]

As an ex copier engineer, I really enjoyed this. It brought make many memories. Thankyou.

[@TimPerfetto]

You know its a good video when you still enjoy it after watching 5+ times

[@tumblevveed3586]

Back in the early 90s when I was about 8, my dad would bring home old office equipment just for me to take apart. One day, he brought this very old massive copy machine home on a trailer and said to tear into it and when I was done, he’d just haul it off. It was probably the most memorable piece of equipment I ever took apart. Lots of chains, sprockets, motors, actuators, gears, mirrors, etc. It blew my mind how much went into copying images onto paper. Now a small $100 brother laser toner copier/printer on my desk that has been trouble free for nearly 8 years just replacing a toner cartridge every so often printing 1,000s of pages for records and invoices. Incredible how far they have come from 100s of lbs of machine containing chains and gears to 10lb or less small plastic cube.

[@henkdeblouw4169]

Tim, thank you for remastering this program! It’s my favorite. I have been a copier/printer service=engineer for 34 years. And I did show your first, un-remastered, videopost to several customers. Especcially to those who complainted about the frequency of service-calls. They were very impressed how you and Rex explained the way a copier/printer worked. And they mostly changed there minds after that. 😃

[@vancouverman4313]

Brings back a lot of memories as I used to fix these machines in the 80's and 90's. Xerox had the dry system tied up in patents until around 1980. Up to that time all the other photocopiers were using a liquid system which produced an inferior copy to the dry system. Once the patents for the dry system and the selenium drum ran out, the Japanese companies like Canon and Toshiba got into the business and broke Xerox's monopoly. Xerox up to that time had never sold their machines, they leased them and upgraded them gradually. The Japanese sold their copiers and revolutionized the industry.

[@johnd1432]

Tim, I love the look of joy on your face as you reveal the beautiful copy you just made on the 1385! It's much like the joy on my face as I watch this magical program. Total gratitude to you and your dear friend Rex.

[@evoredy]

I remember this episode as a kid. Just yesterday I had the modern MFC in the office half apart because of a paper jam. I thought about this and today this popped up. Perfect timing!

[@w6wdh]

Tim, thanks for remastering this program! It’s my favorite. I gave a seminar on laser scanners (as used in laser printers) at an IS&T conference in New Orleans in 1994. I showed this program to the class to explain the electrostatic printing process. They loved it! That you came up with the clips of Chester Carlson and the Xerox 914 is remarkable. And your demonstrations are excellent. I’m so glad that public television showed this episode in 1994 and that I was able to purchase a VHS copy of the program for educational purposes.

[@blazertundra]

As someone in the printing industry, even the 10,000 page/hour beasts we use today are basically the same thing as those old 50s copiers. Just with more bells and whistles and digital imput.

[@reacey]

My god do I need these little programs, especially during this era of insanity we are living in. I'd like to know what a man with a proper thinking brain, like Tim, thinks about all this madness

[@Olson2BW]

I can't remember when I started watching this program but I LOVED it right from the start. Learning in a FUN way? What a revolution. In school we were taught (incorrectly) that in 1492 Columbia sailed the ocean blue and discovered America (he was at minimum the 10th "person" to discover "America" from "across the pond". Discovered? What a laugh. Speaking of laughs, I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed these programs and to discover them again in a remastered version? Brilliant! ;)

[@chrisgurney2467]

Colour Copying did lead to Polymer Banknotes - the CSIRO in Australia developed Polymer Banknotes because the paper $10 was feared to be too easy to copy with it's blue ink shades

[@Disraeli82]

Mr. Hunkin: Thank you for this series! I watched these as a kid in the early-mid 90s here in the U.S. on cable and was utterly fascinated. To find them posted, by you, on KZbin in high quality with commentary is definitely a treat. The intelligence, passion, and humor you and Rex put into these are evident.

[@quilmeshot]

As an old actual copier technician: i found your video so so amazing! Thank you so much!! Hugs from Argentina!

[@skivvy3565]

KZbin keeps removing all my likes from videos, so here I am rewatching the entire series liking them all over again. Miss ya Tim. Was hoping to see some vids this winter

[@FreeWhilly734]

Thanks for uploading this I'm a current copier field tech. I actually enjoy the job it is demanding as they are even more complicated now than ever. People expect way more than just paper to come out of them as they are literally connected to everything, computers, phones, internet, email. I liked where he says they can't make machine that can reliably feed paper and they still can't... What makes it so much worse is people who buy the cheapest paper and expect it to run like a dream. You wouldn't fill your car with watered down petrol and expect to do the same journey without problems. The problem with this technology is it's hit a rut and they can't really make it any better. Lots of tweaks since this video which has helped a tonne. Such a shame we will never get a sequel to this video from the original people. I will just add 90% of calls are created by the person using the machine usually from not thinking about what they are doing. The other 10% is maintenance.

[@grahams5871]

The adverts you chose for these episodes are just sublimely funny. Well done.

[@therealbluedragon]

I’m not sure why but watching these is very comforting.

[@shellyscott8275]

As an avid home sewer I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Sew interesting ! Thank-you Tim

[@AlanCanon2222]

I'm from Kentucky and read Physics at the University of Louisville, from a freshly minted (and very handsome and well-admired among the ladies) Oxford Ph.D. I still remember my laws of physics, and history of engineering, and I have learned very many things from your videos that I did not know. I did once visit Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, Somerset. There was a display of Victorian amusement machines, including automata. One depicted a hanging. Right up your alley: have you seen it?

[@garp32]

Thanks again for keeping my memories of these alive.. They look wonderful!

[@Nighthawke70]

The ad agency Xerox hired was a genius in presenting their products. One of the ones that stood out was the commercial where a trained chimpanzee made copies on a 914. Sadly enough, there was so much backlash over the clip, the execs had the commercial pulled shortly after airing. But, ,there are several clips preserved on YT. Obviously, the Chimp commercial is on here, the most charming one was the "Little Debbie" commercial, where a little girl ran a 914 to make copies of her doll, and some copies for her daddy. The other one for the Xerox 2400 put photocopying into perspective, comparing it to the number of steps to make copies by either offset or spirit litho. It was called "What is the difference". I feel it really put Xerography into the spotlight for all time.

[@garylucas6511]

I worked as a copier field engineer back or copier technician in the 80’s. I worked with Canon and was so happy to transfer to the Fax division when that took off, then to office accounting equipment… lawyers loved my system so they could bill their clients for little bit of work that was done, even every phone call. Then i went into the wireless (cellular) which was closer to my degree and i remained in wireless never to look back on those copier and fax days of the 80’s!

[@1pdonlon]

Loved this series when it was first shown, when I was a teenager in the '80s. Very happy to see it again. Also, in Rex's kitchen at 6m35s - he has a pop-sideways toaster. We had a couple of these back then. Rex's looks like the second generation model. The first generation had very nice, elegant "doors" on the side - one per slice - that popped out individually when the toast was done. However, they snapped off ours (and presumably everyone else's, too!) The second generation toaster, as seen in the video, was a crude and ugly side-door mechanism, which was just one piece of metal for both slices. It ruined the look of the toaster. I had forgotten about it until seeing it again here. Thanks so much for posting these videos!!

[@carboneum]

Very exciting, educational and enjoyable. thank you;

[@toml.8210]

I use the stepper motors from these things to build DC power generators. I have one of the proverbial, pedal-powered generators we always discussed in school and college! It won't power the TV, but I use it in the winter to charge a tablet PC or a power bank, while I'm shut-in during heavy snows...

[@danthevan1451]

I can't believe you've been to Rochester NY. I did a placement year there. Worked at The Old Toad which is less than 1/2 mile from the Xerox tower. I hope it was summer when you went coz the winters are super cold!

[@Srinathji_Das]

I've always appreciated good photo copiers, but now I understand how truly fortunate i am. Awesome video! 👍

[@masterbondofox8982]

I saw this circa 1992 when I was in my 2nd year as a copier technician, I recorded it the second time around and took it to work where it was shown after the Monday morning meeting. Me, it got me hooked on your show after it's first run.

[@andrewprettyquick2070]

This series nailed proof of concept better than any other. Murphy was looking kindly upon you

[@Richardincancale]

2:54 I love the profound colour of Prussian Blue that is embedded in the paper. I’ve used it extensively in my art works that you can see on Instagram under the same name!

[@OmarWannaHike]

I don't remember the exact episode, though I saw it in the late 80's in the Dominican Republic. I did not become an engineer or scientist, etc., and I can't credit you with my lifelong interest in knowing what makes things tick. However, you and other program presenters and writers like James Burke absolutely shaped part of my childhood and therefore life. I have the opportunity to show my 5-year-old your videos here, he likes the animations and anything that burns. Thank you very much for just doing what you love. We appreciate it.

[@cruisepaige]

Im seeing these for the first time and LOVE. Them!

[@joegrey9807]

So glad you've put these videos up, I remember them from the 80s. As for the paperless office, that does seem to be finally happening, working from home is a great incentive not to create lots of heavy paper. In the year I've been at my current office job, I've used the printer once; to make a set of copies for a rare in-face meeting, and we still did ended up using the laptops instead.

[@georgevp]

Brings back memories of using the old monster copiers.

[@ednarsquimby8093]

I've always loved this series! Society needs this type of series again.

[@rickblackwell6435]

Of all the technology you have covered thus far, this seems the most difficult to make work. Extraordinarily complex. Well done.

[@adampoll4977]

I look forward to every one of these remasters! The world needs more Rex.

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

In the 80's my friends and I would make contraptions like the General out of salvaged copier parts. Business parks were a great source of machines, just wheeled out to a dumpster. Then hit the carpet store, rubber stamp factory, medical glass and other dumpsters in the park for more gold. I worked my way through college at a copy store at night.

[@thinkingahead6750]

Fantastic explains so much and, yes, I also have quite a few bits of copying machines still playing their part in new lives. I remember in the 80s with the advent of "laser copiers" people used to think the laser was the bright light that scanned the document. I used to That 1959 advert explains so much.

[@olwe1000]

Thanks, always been a fan of this show. Then it went somewhere and it was not on anymore. It is good that it is on KZbin.

[@tombickmore]

I watched these in school, and loved the hands-on curiosity. I'm now a science teacher, and have been looking for these for a while, but couldn't remember any names. Very happy to have found this just now!! (I searched "photocopier sulfur science video", as those were key things I remembered)

[@markriley24]

Loved this show and my favorite part is the animation and voice actors! So glad your are putting these on and enjoying your commentary at the end. R.I.P. Rex, would loved to hear his take on looking back with you!

[@TheMrMarkW]

Still one of my favourite programme series - and it's so nice to see these again. I'm sure you sparked my interest in technology when I watched it as a kid. BTW - Interesting side note about the copying of banknotes. Not long after you tried to copy your banknote, and when the technology moved onto being 'digital' colour copies, the copier and printer manufacturers used to use some of the keying on the banknotes to recognise a banknote. If you try to copy money today you'll notice the printer or copier will purposely 'damage' the copy in some way (ever wondered what the strange scattered 'circles' constellations were for on a UK note or Euro note? It is what the scanner reads and stops the copy). Previous to this, they would also use Steganography in the output print. So the early colour copiers (Kodak, Canon, Océ and others) would always print a tiny code embedded in the yellow ink, which law enforcement were able to decode. This would usually be the serial number of the unit which can then be linked to the owner as all colour copiers had to be registered. This way you could trace back which machine was being used to copy banknotes (or other official documents like Driving Licences). Strangely this didn't become public knowledge until recently (I knew back in the mid 90's when I worked in IT in a company that had a few large colour printers / copiers and was informed of this by the manufacturer).

[@kingfish4575]

Amazing and we still use them.

[@kombi9648]

I really want to thank you. I remember watching this in the US on Discovery. I even later....20is years ago. Downloaded bad copies of the show. It is so nice. Not just seeing them. But cleaned up. Thank you so much for the show and all your hard work.

[@Controllerhead]

What wonderful mechanisms and brilliant problem solving in these old machines! Digital scans and inkjet printers work very reliably, but, they are rather boring and utilitarian in comparison; it seems most things are like that now.

[@mikeriggs4864]

I have been a copier technician since 1981. The technology has change a great deal and modern copiers are much more reliable.

[@gregjohnson4321]

The Secret Life of Machines is an educational television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery. According to Hunkin, the show's creator, the programme was developed from his comic strip The Rudiments of Wisdom, which he researched and drew for the Observer newspaper over a period of 14 years. Three separate groupings of the broadcast were produced and originally shown between 1988 and 1993 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, with the production subsequently broadcast on The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel in the U.S.

[@gonzo_the_great1675]

I recall a story from the early days of colour copiers. A guy was caught going around an office equipment show, with A4 sheets of bank notes, trying them on the various copiers. And was handed over to the police. Turned out that he worked for the Royal Mint and was testing experimental bank note patterns, to see how the copiers would fayre. He got a night in the cells before they could get hold of someone at the mint to confirm his story.

[@juliancripps1580]

Brilliant and beautifully formed film. You are a national treasure . Keep up the inspirational work.

[@compu85]

Canon invented the toner cartridge - they went to Xerox and asked if they wanted to be their US distributor for this tech, since they didn't have a large footprint in the US at the time. Xerox turned them down. That cartridge, and the CX copier engine it went with was used in the first small commercial laser pritners - the Apple LaserWriter, HP LaserJet, and others. This brought about the "Desktop Publishing Revolution"!

[@DVD927]

I really enjoyed this episode! I’m 57 & now I know how a copier works. Also, now I know why my copier is starting up more slowly - The heating element isn’t as quick to heat as it used to be. No plans to do anything about it, I’ll just be understanding that it’s having some of the same aging problems as I am.

[@JackdeDuCoeur]

Tim Hunkin is a great artist.

[@harveysvintageaudio]

Everytime I test my repairs on my reel to reels I always say " This recording was made on sticky tape and rust", I really do everytime, lol. RIP Rex.

[@Culturedropout]

I started out in one of my first jobs as a photocopier repairman while I was in high-school. Man, those old machines with the liquid toner and fixer and such were a mess! It didn't help that people would try to transport them without securing the tanks, and you'd end up with the stuff running everywhere. And you had to take apart half the machine to get to some of the internal parts to replace them. I was a little amused when you mentioned the heat-transfer (pink paper) copiers having been used in the 1950's. My mother had a real estate office, and one of those was their only copier through the 1970's if not longer. Really enjoyed seeing your demonstrations of how the machines worked; I'd forgotten how almost magical some of those processes seemed.

[@sonyp180]

Great to see these again. Loved these on tv. Thankyou sir

[@wdavem]

I was 14 years old when I saw this on TV (I'm 42 now). THANK YOU. Two years later I got a big, unhappy 300 lb copier from my first volunteer job and actually got it working! That is to say I got it working long enough to print many 11"x17" big prints and many more of those 8 1/2" x 11" 4-page/center fold booklets; for an underground zeen a friend was doing. I miss those days. I even worked out how to print on paper towels and they fused properly, although the texture was all wrong. So Tim, I have to thank you in BIG part, even though I liked photocopiers since i was 3.

[@wdavem]

The copier eventually destroyed itself because I couldn't afford things like replacement light bar harness, fuser oil, fuser roller and THE DRUM, LOL. But it gave me knowledge/experience I had no other access to at that critical time in my life. So thanks again!

[@franksprecisionguesswork501]

I just discovered your channel a few days ago. I am beside myself, we are definitely brothers in technology. I really love all the craftsmanship of the one off gadgets you have made throughout the years. I was anxious to see if you would mention the CIA deal with with Xerox to spy on the Russian in Embassy. But I suspect that subject was probably still classified when you made the video.I really hope you continue to work at disclosing the absurd and building the Impossible. And greetings from Los Angeles.

[@TheChipmunk2008]

I think it was, it became declassified if i recall in the early 90s... fascinating tho :D

[@david_r_munson]

Absolutely the best thing I've discovered recently. Such an enjoyable video!

[@UnitSe7en]

This hero standing right next to 6 carbon arcs like it aint no thang

[@TerryJonesPrinterRepairs]

I must admit I got slightly excited when the office girl put on her rubber glove. Had no Idea the Canon FC1 Portable Copier went all the way back to 1987.

[@beautifulsmall]

It looks like a machine that made several new steps, magnetic powder with the ink, amazing.Photoelectrical thin films. Wow, and mechanically , chain drive, it seems to be the mechanics that have changed the most not the fundamental process. And we still have paper copiers in most offices and they are still enourmous. A real pleasure to watch, must have missed this one first time. Photons love knocking electrons out. I remember my physics teacher saying metals shine because the free electrons form a sea. but a conductor would not work, the sea cannot flow it would destroy the image, static electricity. doh. a wonderful journey. Rex's sparks are nice and a lovely aphid free kitchen. It was a fun episode to watch, thank you ALL who made it. and Xerox.

[@taylorsutherland9447]

I couldn't wait for the next episode to air when I was a kid. Now my son and I watch SLoM every night.

[@Olson2BW]

I absolutely LOVE this show and I am VERY THANKFUL for Mr. Hunkin getting these videos remastered as the originals were really hard to see things on new technology, especially on my 2019 27" 5k iMac computer.

[@jennylai7801]

This man is a TREASURE!

[@compu85]

All of the lovely jokes in the set dressing come through more clearly in these upscaled versions. I was never able to pick them out from the VHS recordings I made back in the day!

[@quantumleap359]

Somehow I missed seeing this episode when it first aired. Watching it today was certainly a treat. Thank you Tim and Rex for a superb series of programs that made understanding the products we all use and have taken for granted so interesting. Blessings and good wishes to you Tim.

[@NuculearFallout1]

I’m so glad I found these remastered amazing work

[@melm4251]

Tim, you're a treasure. I worked for a few years in a print room so this was a nice reminder of that, and all the time spent as a kid watching your show. Your animations still make me laugh

[@1pcfred]

The electrified sheep at 5:01 was sublime.

[@HandFromCoffin]

Man I remember using those early dry power copiers at the library when I was a kid. See back then you had to go photocopy books to write your report on Ohio Grain Production or what ever. I also remember in grade school those wet blue kind.

[@nigelcarren]

This is what happens, when two men are asked to make a cooking programme! 🏆🇬🇧

[@pa-vl1kg]

I would like to personally thank you ,Tim and Rex. Your work was an inspiration for my "young-self", ending up making my hobbies my living. Again, thank you both so much.

[@davey_projects2977]

Fantastic. I dont remember seeing this one back in the day. What a marvel the toner printer is and largely hasn't changed at all.

[@PebblesChan]

A photocopier only works whilst being watched.

[@josephharold808]

When not under constant observation, it follows the laws of quantum mechanics.

[@kuebbisch]

The probability of a working copier was inverse proportional to the urgency. Need a handout just now for a customer? You could bet on low toner and no paper available near the machine, or someone duplicating and collating a 30 page report with 50 copies remaining.

[@38911bytefree]

@@kuebbisch LOL .... so true ... same as printer. DONT DONT LIKE TO WORK UNDER PRESURE LOL

[@toddt6730]

Ain’t that the truth

[@jsutrov]

That's true of all things. Most famously the 'double slit' experiment explains the theory.

[@TheSynthnut]

Thank you so much Tim for uploading these. Your Rudiments of Wisdom and these series have been inspirational in my life. It's lovely to hear your anecdotes on their making as well.

[@mgevirtz]

Tim, I wish you had been on TV when I was a child (you were, but not where I grew up). Your show is extraordinarily well produced and edited. Thank you.

[@setharnold9764]

I love the bit about the ten pound note getting you in trouble :)

[@Culturedropout]

There's a knock on the door tomorrow; "Excuse me, Mister Hunkin. Metropolitan Police Service. You'll need to come with us..." ;D

[@lindsaycole8409]

The paperless office is finally happening, myself and the company I work for uses less and less paper each year with less printers or copying. The problem is that until you got high res multiple monitors, printing something out was the best way.

[@paulmorrey733]

Thanks Tim