# Obsolete graphics supplies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987 "2008-11-29T23:31:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/1 "2008-11-29T23:31:18Z")
Remember doing graphics on a drawing table, when “cut and paste” was really “cut” and “paste”? X-acto knives. Waxing machines. Mechanicals. Illustration board. Rubber cement. Rapidographs. Rolls of border tape, including curved corners. Push pins. Veloxes. Type galleys. Letraset type. Linotype machines. Limited fonts and sizes. Rubylith. Typositor machines. Paper-tape typesetting. Stat machines. T-squares. Triangles. Rubber cement thinner. Kneaded erasers. Fixatif. Mechanical drafting pencils. Pencil pointers. Pen-and-ink art. Taborets. Roto-trays. Plastic templates. French curves. Tracing paper. Burnishers. Proportion wheels. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/2 "2008-11-29T23:45:10Z")
A lot of the supplies you’ve mentioned are used by fine artists, as well as by graphic artists who draw on paper before scanning their work and continuing to modify it on the computer. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/3 "2008-11-30T02:37:55Z")
When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought of rubylith. How about the markers (can’t think of the brand name – GAAAH!) that came in PMS colors so you could produce accurate (sort of) color comps? Remember “camera-ready”? Remember all the employment ads for strippers? For that matter, remember FPO? Sheesh! I remember spending at least an hour with my printing rep going over every job page by page. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/4 "2008-11-30T03:16:14Z")
I remember taking drafting for 5 years in school and having to learn to do all those lines and lettering perfect. What a waste of practice time. None of my schooling taught me to use a cad system. ---
**Author:** ![hekk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@hekk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hekk)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/5 "2008-11-30T03:18:50Z")
I have a source for a large amount of Letraset, not in quantity but in variety. There must be 400 fonts(correct usage? too young to know better) available. I use it to label random things, like coffee cups. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/6 "2008-11-30T03:20:12Z")
Anybody ever use [Benday](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benday_Dots)? I assume that’s obsolete, too, now that you can create and reproduce halftones more or less at will. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/7 "2008-11-30T03:33:12Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > PMS colors I’m guessing this is a genuine brand name or descriptive term, but the names ‘Bitchy Blue’, ‘Weepy White’, and ‘Moody Maroon’ popped into my head and aren’t going to leave. How about the complex little template you could use to trace arbitrary curves and a variety of angles onto paper? I’m guessing CAD software and Photoshop have both eaten into that thing’s utility. Does anyone still use #3 pencils? I heard once that draftsmen were the main market for them and now draftsmen seem to use drafting software. (They have harder graphite than #2 and, therefore, make lighter marks, which is why you can’t use them on standardized tests. [The results of doing so anyway are unpredictable.](http://xkcd.com/499/)) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/8 "2008-11-30T03:37:49Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > I’m guessing this is a genuine brand name or descriptive term **P** antone **M** atching **S** ystem. Yup. Not yet obsolete, either. > [@](#): > > Does anyone still use #3 pencils? I do, when I can find 'em. I’m left-handed, and they cut down on the schmutz and smear factor. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/9 "2008-11-30T04:11:09Z")
Red and blue grease pencils. Who among us never flopped the negative? I made my very first letterhead with some cast-off monarch stationery and leftover Helvetica presstype. When I showed it to the art director he said “that’s pretty good But your spacing is a little irregular.” ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/10 "2008-11-30T04:20:01Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > … > How about the markers (can’t think of the brand name – GAAAH!) that came in PMS colors so you could produce accurate (sort of) color comps?.. Pantone Tria markers. I can’t say it any better than **matt\_mcl**. The art store I worked at for a long time used to make boatloads of money on graphic design supplies, but it survived the digital revolution by not clinging to the old way and focusing on selling art supplies. ---
**Author:** ![oliversarmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb8c5e/32.png) [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/11 "2008-11-30T05:45:30Z")
Boy, do I remember these things. I worked in newspapers for years after graduating from college. The proportion wheel and pica pole were my tools of the trade. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/12 "2008-11-30T06:05:34Z")
Well, the OP pretty much said it all for me. The good ol’ days … … but not really. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/13 "2008-11-30T06:29:25Z")
I still use most of this stuff, but for illustration. I draw, paint, cut, and paste most things by hand and then touch up on the computer. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/14 "2008-11-30T12:27:12Z")
I reached for some sticky tape the other day and it turned out to be a roll of register marks. Instantly, the scent of a bromide machine seemed to appear in my nostrils. And we don’t even have a cat. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/15 "2008-11-30T12:42:07Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Does anyone still use #3 pencils? I heard once that draftsmen were the main market for them and now draftsmen seem to use drafting software. (They have harder graphite than #2 and, therefore, make lighter marks, which is why you can’t use them on standardized tests. [The results of doing so anyway are unpredictable.](http://xkcd.com/499/)) In my high school drafting class back in '75, we used **#6** pencils. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/16 "2008-11-30T14:33:45Z")
The use of OHP slides, pens etc seems to be declining rapidly. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/17 "2008-11-30T23:15:20Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Well, the OP pretty much said it all for me. The good ol’ days … > … but not really. That’s it. I miss my lost youth, but I don’t miss clogged rapidographs, one-point line tape (with or without carrier), or calculating how many column inches copy will fill at 1.29 characters per pica. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/18 "2008-11-30T23:38:50Z")
I used to have a Rotring set. In fact, I probably still do, somewhere. But I just use a regular fibretip pen and scan, or do everything on the PC, and fine ink pens are no longer a tool in my arsenal. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/19 "2008-12-01T07:03:03Z")
Well, just try finding drafting vellum, or Diazo blueprint paper, which is in the fast lane to extinction. My blueprint place tells me that 80% of their customers use CAD systems. I am a twenty-percenter, and am looking forward to retiring reeeal soon! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987/20 "2008-12-01T12:30:37Z")
Ohhh, Rotring! We weren’t allowed to use those until 10th grade… the previous 4 years of Draftsmanship were strictly _tiralíneas_ (m-w doesn’t know what it’s called in English, that tool where you had to take up some ink from a China ink bottle and use a little wheel to regulate thickness). We were dying to get the Rotrings. Mind you, thanks to that I can do better inks with a Bic than some folks with any fancy tools you care to name. I’ve never seen a blueprint in, you know, blueprint paper, though. I had a total OooOOO moment when I found out why “blueprints” are called “blueprints” in English (in Spanish they’re _planos_, “flat (drawings)”). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-graphics-supplies/474987.md?page=2)