ABSTRACT: Separately printed copies, known as reprints, offprints, separates or preprints, were issued for many of the papers published in books or journals in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They are of particularinterest when a date of publication is in question. If a separately printed paper was distributed in advance of the book or journal containing the paper, does that advance its date of publication? This paper analyses the way this issue has been approached in successive editions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and, for comparison, the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants. Particular problems are identified in the current Zoological Code, and recommendations made for eliminating these and restoring clear rules on an issue that has long caused difficulty and disagreement.
