Wikipedia

Carbon copy

For other uses, seeCarbon copy (disambiguation).
"cc:" redirects here. For other uses, seeCC (disambiguation).

Before the development of photographic copiers, acarbon copywas the under-copy of a typed or written document placed overcarbon paperand the under-copy sheet itself (not to be confused with thecarbon printfamily of photographic reproduction processes).[1]When copies ofbusiness letterswere so produced, it was customary to use the acronym "CC" or "cc" before a colon and below the writer's signature to inform the principal recipient that carbon copies had been made and distributed to the parties listed after the colon.[2]With the advent of word processors and e-mail, "cc" is used as a merely formal indication of the distribution of letters to secondary recipients.

A copy made with carbon paper

Process

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A sheet of carbon paper is placed between two or more sheets of paper. The pressure applied by the writing implement (pen, pencil, typewriter orimpact printer) to the top sheet causes pigment from the carbon paper to reproduce the similar mark on the copy sheet(s). More than one copy can be made by stacking several sheets with carbon paper between each pair. Four or five copies is a practical limit. The top sheet is theoriginaland each of the additional sheets is called acarbon copy.

History

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As creating carbon copies requires relatively few resources, it became a common method for producing underground and clandestine newspapers, as seen in this French example from World War II.

Whilecarbon paperwas invented byPellegrino Turriin 1801,[3]it was not widely used for copying untiltypewritersbecame common.[4]Carbon copies were in wide use between the 1870s and 1980s, largely for administrative tasks.[5]

Use

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The use of carbon copies declined with the advent ofphotocopyingand electronic document creation and distribution (word processing). Carbon copies are still sometimes used in special applications: for example, in manual receipt books which have a multiple-use sheet of carbon paper supplied, so that the user can keep an exact copy of each receipt issued, although even herecarbonless copy paperis often used to the same effect.

It is still common for abusiness letterto include, at the end, a list of names preceded by the abbreviation "CC", indicating that the named persons are to receive copies of the letter, even though carbon paper is no longer used to make the copies.

An alternative etymology is that "c:" was used for copy and "cc:" indicates the plural, just as "p." means page and "pp." means pages. This alternative etymology explains the frequent usage of "c:" when only one recipient is listed, while "cc:" is used for two or more recipients of the copies. This etymology can also explain why, even originally, "cc:" was used to list recipients who received typed copies and not necessarily carbon copies.[6]Sometimes this "cc" is interpreted as "courtesy copy".

The term "carbon copy" can denote anything that is a near duplicate of an original ( "...and you want to turn him into a carbon copy of every fourth-rate conformist in this frightened land!"Robert Heinlein,Stranger in a Strange Land).[7]

Use as a verb

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Carbon copy can be used as a transitive verb with the meaning described under e-mail below related to theCCfield of an e-mail message. That is, to send the message to additional recipients beyond the primary recipient. It is common practice to abbreviate the verb form, and many forms are used, includingccandcc:.Past tense forms in use areCCed,cc'd,cc'ed,cc-edandcc:'d.[8]Presentparticipleorimperfectforms in use includecc'ing.Merriam-Webster usescc,cc'dandcc'ing,respectively.[9]

Email

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See also:Blind carbon copy

In common usage, anemailmessage has three fields for addressees: theTofield is for principal recipients of the message, theCcfield indicates secondary recipients whose names are visible to one another and to the principal, and theBcc(blind carbon copy) field contains the names of tertiary recipients whose names are invisible to each other and to the primary and secondary recipients.[10]

Printers

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Impact printers, such asdot matrixanddaisy wheelimpact printers,are also able to use carbon paper to produce several copies of a document in one pass.[11]Commercial-grade models can print on six-part forms, while less powerful, low-cost ones may print up to three-part forms.[12]Usually, this feature is used in conjunction with continuous, prearranged perforated paper and carbon supplies for use with a tractor feeder, rather than with single sheets of paper, for example, when printing out commercial invoices or receipts.[13]

Examples

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  • Menu for theBlackpool TowerCafé Restaurant, with daily specials (in blue) carbon copied, early 20th century.
  • Typed carbon copy letter from 1919, with stamp reading "A true copy of the signed original."

References

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  1. ^Raj (2020-07-13)."History of CC and BCC before Emails".Budding Geek.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-12-06.Retrieved2020-07-20.
  2. ^Beal, Peter. (2008) "carbon copy" inA Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology 1450–2000.Online edition.Oxford University Press,2008.http:// oxfordreferenceArchived2013-06-02 at theWayback MachineRetrieved 22 November 2013.
  3. ^"Italian Inventors and their Inventions".YourGuideToItaly. 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-05-09.Retrieved2011-01-25.
  4. ^"Carbon Copy".Society of American Archivists Dictionary.Society of American Archivists.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-02-12.Retrieved2023-02-12.
  5. ^"Office Printing and Reprography".Preservation Self-Assessment Program (PSAP).University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-02-12.Retrieved2023-02-12.
  6. ^"CC all readers"Archived2015-05-09 at theWayback Machine.New Scientist. 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  7. ^Heinlein, Robert A. (1991-10-01).Stranger in a Strange Land.Penguin. p. 121.ISBN978-0-441-78838-5.
  8. ^"What To Do When You Are Cc:'d".thestudio. 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-12-14.Retrieved2012-07-18.
  9. ^"CC".Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-05-25.Retrieved2016-11-17.
  10. ^Resnick, Pete (April 2001)."RFC 2822 - Internet Message Format".The Internet Society.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-05-08.Retrieved2008-04-11.
  11. ^ITL Education Solutions Ltd. (2004).Introduction to Computer Science.India: Pearson Education. p. 223.ISBN9788131704363.
  12. ^McLoughlin, Ian."Computer Peripherals"(PDF).Chapter 13, p. 8.Retrieved2024-10-04.
  13. ^Howell, Bronwyn (2023-08-11)."What Delays Airlines' Use of Technological Innovations?".AEIdeas.American Enterprise Institute.Retrieved2024-10-04.
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