On 12 March 2011 a Blue Plaque was placed on his home at 124 Highbury New Park in north London.

Gestetner allegedly perceived the idea of the duplicating method after an ink-spill accident whilst vending kites in Chicago.

Gestetner then moved to London, United Kingdom to produce his inventions and went on to achieve great commercial success.

The Gestetner works opened in 1906 at Tottenham Hale, north London, and employed tens of thousands of people until the 1990s.

The drums were revolved and ink, spread evenly across the surface of the screen by a pair of cloth-covered rollers, was forced through the cuts made in the stencil and transferred onto a sheet of paper which was fed through the duplicator and pressed by pressure rollers against the lower drum.

The stencil duplicator provided individuals with a means to produce their own uncensored and uncontrolled ideas and distribute them in public places (near factories, churches, government offices, parks etc.).

Gestetner acquired other companies during the years: Nashua (later changed to Nashuatec), Rex Rotary, Hanimex and Savin.

The company was renamed NRG Group, and markets and services Ricoh products under its three main brand names, primarily in Europe, South Africa and the Middle East, but also through dealers throughout the world.