A. B. Dick Company

A. B. Dick Company

Company type	Defunct
Industry	Graphic Arts Equipment
Founded	Chicago, Illinois, United States, 1883
Founder	Albert Blake Dick
Defunct	July 2004
Headquarters	Niles, Illinois, United States
Key people	Albert Blake Dick, Founder Albert Blake Dick Jr., second president A. B. Dick III, third president Karl Van Tassel, president John C. Stetson, president Ed Suchma final president and CEO
Revenue	$268.62 million (1998 est.)
Number of employees	about 900, mid-1930s about 1,200 in 1996
Website	http://www.abdick.com/

The A. B. Dick Company, later branded as ABDick, was a prominent American producer of copying machines and office equipment throughout the late 1800s and the 20th century.

Founding and growth

Established in 1883 in Chicago by Albert Blake Dick (1856–1934), the enterprise initially operated in the lumber sector before diversifying into office supply manufacturing. After securing licensing rights to autographic printing patents developed by Thomas Edison, it grew to become the largest global producer of mimeograph devices—Albert Dick himself coined the term "mimeograph". The company launched the Model 0 Flatbed Duplicator in 1887. These flatbed models were eventually succeeded by rotating cylinder duplicators featuring automatic ink distribution systems, available in both hand-cranked and electric motor-powered varieties.

In 1926, A. B. Dick constructed a new corporate headquarters at 728 West Jackson (currently known as Haberdasher Square Lofts) and later moved its operations to suburban Niles in 1949.

The introduction of the model 350 and 360 duplicator presses, paired with Itek Graphix plate makers, played a crucial role in enabling quick or instant printing businesses from the 1960s through the 1980s. These plate makers transitioned from paper to polyester plates manufactured by Mitsubishi, eventually incorporating digital plate-making technology in the early 1990s, which transformed small-scale press printing. Additionally, A. B. Dick produced equipment utilizing rival spirit duplicator technology. Nevertheless, beginning in the 1960s, advances in xerography began to overshadow the company's mimeograph products.

John C. Stetson held the position of president at A. B. Dick before his appointment as Secretary of the Air Force in 1978.

End of independent existence

In 1979, ownership of A. B. Dick was transferred to the British firm General Electric Company (not to be confused with the American General Electric). During the early 1980s, A. B. Dick partnered with GEC Computers to develop the ultimately unsuccessful GEC Series 63 minicomputer.

The company broadened its product range in 1988 by acquiring Itek Graphix, a leading supplier of plate-making equipment for small format offset presses. By the late 1990s, A. B. Dick operated as a division under Nesco based in Cleveland.

After encountering financial difficulties, A. B. Dick declared bankruptcy in 2004; its assets were subsequently purchased by Presstek, a manufacturer specializing in prepress products. In 2013, Presstek sold the ABDick division to Mark Andy, Inc., which continues to offer products under the ABDick brand as of 2024.

Additional reading

• Buck, Glen. Fifty Years 1884-1934, A. B. Dick Company. Chicago: Lakeside Press, 1934. (featuring illustrations by Rockwell Kent and photographs by Torkel Korling.)