Computers & Business Machines

Graphic Technology Continuous Forms Planning Rule

Description

This steel rule was used to design forms to be printed continuously on a dot matrix printer. On one side along one long edge, it has a 16" scale divided to 1/32" for the first two inches and then to 1/16". Every 1/8" increment is numbered, corresponding to the vertical spacing of characters on some printouts made by IBM computers. Each inch division up to 9 is labeled with a number of punch cards, starting at 160 cards at the 1" mark and going up to 1,280 cards. A hole 3/16" in diameter is placed at each 1/4" and 3/4" mark up to 11-3/4" (24 holes total). These were used for setting pinfeed holes down the side of the forms for continuous feeding.

The lower left corner has four holes 7/16" in diameter, and four holes 5/8" in diameter are in the lower right corner. These were used in designing holes to be punched in forms so that they could be easily filed in folders. The other long edge has a 40 cm scale divided to millimeters. This side is marked: GTi GRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY, INC. (/) 9910 Widmer Road P.O. Box 14646 Lenexa, Kansas 66215 (/) (913) 492-9615. It is also marked: • BAR CODED SHELF LABELS (/) • CASE AND PRICE LABELS (/) • SHELF MOLDING, CHIPS, ETC. (/) • CUSTOM PRESSURE SENSITIVE LABELS. The left end is marked: MADE IN U.S.A. (/) No. 16M8. Between the lines of this mark is a deer leaping to the right through a letter D. This logo is presumably for the company that manufactured the rule, but it was apparently not used by the John Deere Company.

The back of the rule has a scale divided to 1/12" and numbered in 1/6" increments, from 1 to 96, along one long edge. The other long edge has a scale divided to 1/10" and numbered from 1 to 160. These scales also correspond to vertical spacing of characters in computer printouts. Compare to 2006.0174.03.

Benjamin S. Mulitz (b. 1919), the donor, worked with punched card equipment and computers from 1940 until 1985. He used both Remington Rand and IBM products. He was employed by the federal government and then in the wholesale drug industry. Graphic Technology, Inc., operated under that name from 1975 to 2004, when the label-maker was purchased by Vestcom International.

References: Stephen Roth, "JoCo Printer Affixes New Owner Label," Kansas City Business Journal, December 26, 2004, http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2004/12/27/story1.html; accession file.

Location

Currently not on view

date made

1975–2004

ID Number

2006.0174.04

accession number

2006.0174

catalog number

2006.0174.04

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Rule, Forms Handling and Data Systems by Standard Register

Description

This stainless steel rule is designed for use in designing forms and program printouts. On one side it has a scale of equal parts 16 inches long divided to 1/32th of an inch, and another scale of 16 inches divided into 160 parts (10 per inch). The other side has a scale 40 centimeters long divided to half centimeters. There also is a scale of form widths in inches, and a scale of equal parts ranging from 0 to 96. There also are scales of file hole spacings.

A mark on the object reads: FORM HANDLING AND DATA SYSTEMS (/) BY STANDARD REGISTER. Another mark reads: CHICAGO (/) ETCHING (/) CORPORATION.

Location

Currently not on view

maker

Chicago Etching Corporation

ID Number

2010.0239.03

catalog number

2010.0239.03

accession number

2010.0239

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Uarco Rule

Description

This two-sided rule made by Uarco Incorporated has its original manila paper sleeve. The front of the rule has a silver background with black markings and the back has a black background with silver marking. The front is marked with two scales. Along the top edge, the 16 inch length is divided into 16th of an inch spaces. The bottom edge is marked with a 160 space scale divided into tenths of an inch. The back also has two scales, a 50 centimeter metric scale divided into millimeters along the top edge and a 16 inch scale divided into 6ths and 12ths along the bottom edge.

The rule was used by museum staff to mark out lines of typed data and to confirm character and line spacing on optical character recognition (OCR) typed pages.

In 1975 the museum began automating its accession records. Information from these records was typed on an IBM Selectric typewriter using special paper designed for OCR scanning and an OCR-A type font element. Each page started with a formatted unique number and each line of data started with a 5-digit code that identified the type of data and the line number associated with it. (e.g. 11001 identified the data as the donor name on line 1; 11002 would identify a second donor name.)

If there was a line of data on an OCR typed page that was not to be scanned, a black pen was used to draw a horizontal line through the center of the 5-digit line code. The OCR scanner would ignore any data line if it detected a 5-space black line. This rule was used to draw an accurate line.

To ensure accurate scans, the data had to be precisely spaced both horizontally and vertically. This rule was used to check the number of spaces between the line code and the start of the data, the space between the OCR characters, as well as the vertical distance between data lines. Data entry workers could reinsert typed pages into the typewriter to correct typographical errors (using the Selectric’s correction tape) or to add data lines at the bottom of a page. The rule was used to confirm the horizontal and vertical spacing accuracy of these edits.

Once all editing was completed, the OCR pages were scanned and copied to 9-track magnetic reel tape by a third party vendor, and then processed on the Smithsonian’s Honeywell mainframe computer.

Location

Currently not on view

maker

Uarco Incorporated

ID Number

2017.0318.02

accession number

2017.0318

catalog number

2017.0318.02

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Moore Business Forms Continuous Forms Planning Rule

Description

This steel rule was used in the design of early computer printouts produced by dot matrix printers. The rule has a scale of 18" along one side, divided to 1/32" for the first two inches and then to 1/16". Each inch division, up to 17, is labeled with a number of punch cards, starting with 140 cards at 1" and going up to 2,380 cards. A hole 3/16" in diameter is placed at each 1/4" and 3/4" mark up to 11-1/4" (23 holes total). These were used for setting pinfeed holes down the side of the forms for continuous feeding.

The center of the instrument has four holes 7/16" in diameter and four holes 5/8" in diameter. These are for designing holes to be punched in forms for filing. The front of the rule also has a scale of inches divided to 1/10", with subdivisions numbered from 1 to 130. This scale is a printer spacing chart, allowing the user to determine the space required for fields to be printed on the form, since each character required 1/10" of space. The rule is marked: MOORE BUSINESS FORMS, INC. Branches across the (/) United States & Canada. It is also marked at the right end: MADE IN U.S.A.

The back of the rule has a scale of inches divided to 1/12" along one edge. Along the other edge is a scale in units of 5/32" that is numbered from 1 to 100. A scale labeled "RG" has divisions the same size and is numbered from 1 to 45. This side is also marked: MOORE BUSINESS FORMS, INC. Branches across the (/) United States & Canada.

According to the donor, the 18"-size rule was considered more desirable than a 16" such as the example in the collections made by Graphic Technology (see 2006.0174.04). Fanfold paper such as that manufactured by Moore Business Forms was used from the mid-1950s into the 2000s, in association with both punched card equipment and computers.

Reference: "RR Donnelley Business Forms History," http://www.rrdonnelley.com/print-solutions/forms/history.aspx.

Location

Currently not on view

date made

mid 20th century

ID Number

2006.0174.03

catalog number

2006.0174.03

accession number

2006.0174

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Wang Rule

Description

This two-sided WANG rule has spacing guides for horizontal and vertical measures. It was used in the 1980s by the museum’s Office of the Registrar to design typed forms (not computer printouts).

The front of the rule has four different horizontal scale divisions. Along the top edge are a 14 inch scale marked in 16ths and a 168 space scale marked 12 spaces to the inch. The bottom edge has a 140 space scale marked 10 spaces to the inch and a 210 space scale marked 15 spaces to the inch. The back has three vertical scale divisions. Along the top edge are a 110 space scale marked eight lines to the inch and a 350 mm scale. Along the bottom edge is an 84 space scale marked 6 lines to the inch.

The museum acquired a WANG minicomputer system in 1982 -- a VS80 with two 75mb hard drives (each one was about the size of a modern dishwasher) and 14 workstations. The minicomputer was used for word processing, email, and data entry. This particular rule was given away with the minicomputer but not used in designing computer printouts. Instead, in the 1980s the Office of the Registrar made an effort to design forms that could be completed on a typewriter. The designs had to be precisely spaced horizontally and vertically so that each line/field would accurately line up when using typewriter tab and/or carriage return keys. This rule was used to ensure that accuracy.

Location

Currently not on view

date made

ca 1982

ca 1980

maker

Wang Laboratories

ID Number

2017.0318.01

accession number

2017.0318

catalog number

2017.0318.01

Data Source

National Museum of American History