Photocopying - Diazo Copying
paper surface document light
Diazo copying gets its name from the fact that it makes use of copy paper that has been treated with a type of chemical known as diazonium compounds. As with the thermographic process described above, diazonium compounds change color when exposed to heat. In diazo copying, the original document and the diazotreated copy paper are placed in contact with each other in a light box and then exposed to a strong source of ultraviolet light. Dark regions on the original document become warm, causing corresponding areas on the diazo paper to darken. The color in these regions is brought about by exposing the copy paper to a developing agent such as ammonia gas. Blue-printing and brown-printing are specialized kinds of diazo copying.
Resources
Books
Considine, Glenn D. Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia. New York: Wiley-Interscience, 2002.
Macaulay, David. The New Way Things Work. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.
Mort, J. The Anatomy of Xerography: Its Invention and Evolution. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1989.
Trefil, James. Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. The Reference Works, Inc., 2001.
David E. Newton
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