The punched card preceded floppy disks and the hard drives of later computers as the first automated information storage device, increasing efficiency and speed, and eliminating the risk of human error involved in recordkeeping by hand. As IBM continued to refine both the card design and the capacities of the tabulating machinery, their applications expanded dramatically – becoming more accessible to more operators in more environments.
Herman Hollerith’s punch card design
The punch cards used in the census of 1890, designed by Herman Hollerith, featured circular holes in 22 columns with eight punch positions each
Railroad Gazette, April 19, 1895. Plate, punch card, and instructions, ca. 1895.
The 80-column breakthrough
In 1928 IBM introduced the 80-column card. When punched, each hole represented one piece of information – from a letter in a customer’s name to a figure in an employee’s paycheck. By increasing the columns from 45 to 80, the new design nearly doubled the amount of information that could be stored on each card.
The proprietary rectangular-hole design
As well as handling more data, the unique rectangular hole was stronger and more compatible with the wire brushes that electrically detected and gripped the holes, and thus was a patentable design. Such innovations inspired IBM’s effort toward further patents in tabluation—such as the Type 405 Alphabetic Accounting Machine and the 600 series of punched card machines—that came in a flurry during the 1930s.
Manufacturing the cards
The manufacturing of the IBM Card itself was a breakthrough. Named for its inventor, IBMer Fred Carroll, the Carroll Rotary Press was designed to produce blank punch cards at a rate of 850 cards every 60 seconds. Each press produced a dollar of revenue for IBM every minute it was in operation.