I've been trying to write up how Aeolian created Duo-Art rolls, and 
you can have a look at my web site to see the latest version (which
adds the process used to create dance rolls).  I've tried to use
original illustrations to show how it all worked.

  http://www.pianorolls.co.uk/Duo-Art%20recording%20process.html

'Marking' pianos were those used to create a master roll one step at
a time, such as most famously by J. Lawrence Cook at QRS but actually
by almost everybody.  Pianos used to create hand-played rolls would
usually be termed 'recording' pianos.

Mostly recording pianos were pencil-marking devices (e.g., Ampico and
QRS), but Aeolian used a reiterating punch for all their classical
rolls.  This arose from their clear original intention to create
playable rolls during the recording session, which left its design
legacy even if the idea turned out to be impractical.

Use of a pencil device for marking real-time recordings was an
established technique that predated the player piano, but involves
significant editing to make the roll.  There's a whole engineering
discipline involved in examining the possible options and alternatives
in this area, and loads of patents to be studied by the enthusiastic.

Most piano rolls were created quite another way, by editors sitting
at desks [the 'drafting boards'] and marking notes directly onto blank
master rolls which were later punched out and used to operate the
perforators.  It involved far less work than trying any form of
recording.  You can make music the same way these days by clicking
marks into the 'piano roll' view of MIDI sequencer programs such as
Cakewalk.

Julian Dyer

 [ An excellent overview, Julian, and thanks for setting me straight
 [ on some of the facts.  -- Robbie