Although I never worked on AP machines, all that oil is what kept 'em running 24/7/52.
Just as I was leaving the profession in 1980, we got a small white (and very quiet) desktop printer from AP. It used the same large box of paper.
We discovered that the generous globs of oil in the old machines helped carry off the paper chaff. The new machine clogged repeatedly with fluff from the AP paper.