Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Autotype Company was founded in Brixton in 1868. The registered office was in the West End of London.
A new company was floated in 1870, also called Autotype Fine Art Company, and the premises moved from Brixton to Ealing. Manufacture of carbon paper continued in Ealing well into the 20th century, though by 1872 Autotype had already diversified in a variety of other photographic processes. By the late 1870s the company had grown to over 70 staff.
From carbon papers, Autotype moved into photogravure and by the first decade of the 20th century photogravure manufacturing represented over 25% of the company turnover.
The period between the two wars was one of intense diversification with photogravure representing nearly 90% of all sales. During the second war, Autotype undertook to do some work for the British government. One of the coating machines was dispatched to Canada for safe keeping, in case the factory in Ealing was bombed.
After 1946 Autotype expanded into the screen market and by the 1950s screen making materials were at the core of Autotype production.
By 1976 the Company moved to larger premises, in order to expand production, and chose a site in Wantage, south of Oxford. The old factory in Ealing was completely destroyed.
On June 14th 2005 Autotype International was acquired by MacDermid Inc. of Denver, Colorado.
Source of information: Company website at http://www.macdermidautotype.com/autotype.nsf/pages/europeaboutHistory