Vintage IBM Keypunch Card Printing plate ENGLISH 80 col for Sale

Vintage IBM Keypunch Card Printing plate ENGLISH 80 col For Sale

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Vintage IBM Keypunch Card Printing plate ENGLISH 80 col:
$24.99

It has been reported that a single page of the Guttenberg Bible sells for $20,000.

Imagine what the printing plates would be worth........

The computer revolution has been the most significant event of our time, yet there was a time when computers were thought to be forever limited to curiousities, always to remain unavailable to the average person.

Keypunch cards changed all that.

For the first time, everyday people could design and run programs, feed data into computers and get the results back in reasonable time. Using the ASCII (pronounced askey) system, multiple holes punched in the same column could denote letters and symbols, which enabled complex computer languages like FORTRAN and COBOL to be under licence from IBM, these plates for these cards were made in England, using a photo-etching process and originally cost $300 each. The design allowed individual companies to customize the card being printed to their specific needs. Every plate is therefore unique.

The stock photos in this listing are representative of the TYPE of plate that you will get. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE SAME PLATE THAT IS PICTURED IN THIS LISTING.

ALL PLATES ARE FROM CANADIAN COMPANIES. Sorry, the US ones were not available.

These plates are great gifts for your favourite computer nerd or you may want to pick some up for yourself (they make great conversation pieces or pencil holders.) Supply is limited and when they\'re gone, they\'re gone.

The item in this listingI have acquired a small number of tabulating card printing plates with the keypunch card printing plates that I got from Canada\'s Control Data, who was the only printer in Canada authorized to print tabulating cards for IBM machines.These plates are the same size as the keypunch card plates - 2.375\" diameter by 3.25\" long. Some will have the original printing ink still on them. THEY WILL NOT ALL LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE ONES PICTURED IN THE LISTING, there will be minor variations (different company names, different column names, possibly some inserts of different lettering in the plate). Being from Canada, these have English and/or French languages. THIS PLATE IS IN ENGLISH.

This is a great opportunity to own a historical artifact from the beginning of the computer age.

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Vintage IBM Keypunch Card Printing plate ENGLISH 80 col For Sale

Vintage IBM Keypunch Card Printing plate ENGLISH 80 col: $24.99

Vintage IBM Keypunch Card Printing plate ENGLISH 80 col:
$24.99