Until the twenties , all condoms was individually hand @-@ dipped by semi @-@ skilled workers . Throughout the decade of the 1920s , advances in the automation of the condom assembly line was made . The first fully automated line was patented in 1930 . Major condom manufacturers bought or leased conveyor systems , and small manufacturers was driven out of business . The skin condom , now significantly more expensive than the latex variety , became restricted to a niche high @-@ end market .