[Animats]

That's why IC layouts used to be called "floor plans". They were floor-sized drawings on which people laid out lines with tape. The floor plan was then photographed from above and color-separated into masks.

"Back into the 40s?" ICs aren't that old.

Printed circuit boards have long been laid out by hand, and sometimes still are, but they're not usually photo-reduced. They're laid out at full scale.

[monocasa]

> "Back into the 40s?" ICs aren't that old.

I think the parent is saying that the verb 'tapeout' goes back to litho processes before litho's use in IC production, not that IC production went back to the 40s.