The electric pen, the centerpiece of the complete duplicating system, boasted a sleek and ergonomic design. Its cast-iron body, commonly adorned with black japanning and gold striping, exuded a sense of elegance and durability. The pen itself featured a motor mounted on top, connected to a pen-like shaft. Powered by a wet-cell battery, the motor drove a reciprocating needle, capable of making an astounding 50 punctures per second or 3,000 per minute. To create a stencil, users were instructed to write or draw naturally on a firm surface, allowing the needle to create a series of tiny perforations in the stencil material.
Once the stencil was prepared, it was placed in the flatbed duplicating press, accompanied by a blank sheet of paper. An inked roller was then passed over the stencil, forcing ink through its perforations and leaving a precise impression of the image on the paper. Edison boasted that a single stencil could yield over 5,000 copies, making the electric pen a game-changer in the realm of document duplication.