• Photocomposition and typesetting machines are constantly changing
• Future high-speed operations require forethought and planning
• How to adapt production procedures to current technological trends

At a recent meeting a group of printers listened with much interest to a discussion of new developments in various areas of the graphic arts industry. At the conclusion of the prepared talks on such topics as composition, presswork, photoengraving, lithography, and electronics, the speakers formed a panel to answer questions from the audience.

Most of the queries indicated that printers are very much concerned about the effects of modern technological changes in printing procedures. This attitude is not limited to the particular group mentioned here, but is common to all printers.

The doubts about the future, as expressed by this and other groups of printers throughout the country, are not so much an expression of concern about new equipment and techniques, but about their effect upon the small printer and his approach to survival in a growing economy.

Scarcely a month passes without an announcement of a new piece of equipment which will render obsolete existing machinery, be it a composing machine or a printing press. Not only is the acceptance of new equipment a problem, but the printer is also faced with new technique of plant operation in production, cost accounting, and other management methods.

Even in the procurement of personnel the smaller plant finds itself outbid by the large organization. The bright young men are attracted by the pull of enlarged opportunity and higher salaries.

Large Firms Conduct Research

There is no doubt that much of the research now being done will more directly benefit the large firms. Since they are now footing the bill for the time and effort put into research, it is natural that developments and techniques will first meet their needs, even though statistically these larger plants represent less than five per cent of the printing industry.

However, there is no need for the small plant owner to become discouraged, provided he remains aware of technological and economic trends and adapts them to his own specific requirements.

In the composing room much emphasis is placed upon the possible inroads to be made by photographic composition, with the apparent threat that hot metal composition is on its last legs. In the immediate postwar period, photocomposition took the form of adaptations of existing typesetting machines, such as the Fotosetter, ATF Hadego, and Monophoto. At present interest centers upon electronically-operated equipment with typewriter keyboards, such as the Photon and Linofilm and the forthcoming phototypesetter being developed by the American Type Founders Co.

The inherent advantages of electronic over mechanical devices have opened up new possibilities of high-speed operation which have further projected the thinking of research people into such devices as the RCA cathode-ray tube, the Eastman Kodak Datascope, and similar systems that are capable of speeds up to 15,000 characters per second and more. The practical application of these machines is still too far in the future to interfere with present-day procedures, but it is important to remember that they are “in the works.”

The small printer, therefore, who may have worked many years to acquire his Linotype or Intertype machine may be appalled at the prospect of competition from electronic photographic composition. It is not time to throw in the sponge without a little forethought and even more stocktaking.

It may be an oversimplification to state that a Photon machine, which costs approximately $50,000 to purchase or about $700 a month to rent, would be uneconomical in the composition of a business card, but it is nonetheless true. This in turn does not mean that the small plant which does produce such an item has nothing to fear from the competition of electronic composition.

The problem requires solid, informed thinking on the part of the individual printer. Should he close his eyes to progress, he will eventually go out of business or at least find the going tough.

A number of steps may be taken to assure profitable operation. First, the printer must make it his business to keep up in his technical knowledge. This can be done quite easily, by a number of well-marked paths.

Access to current developments is fairly simple if he follows the trade press, attends trade association meetings and Craftsmen’s club sessions, and discusses new procedures with his suppliers of ink, paper, machinery, etc. There is no dearth of competently prepared material, but the printer must make the effort to obtain it.

Second, the printer must be aware of the need to modernize his plant equipment and operating procedures. This of course involves several other matters in which the smaller plant is notoriously deficient: that is, the owner must have a concrete understanding of costs, and a complete record of the disbursement of his income. He must keep accurate accounts in order to establish his own hour costs and to know precisely when a job may represent a loss or a profit.

Standardized procedures of production, adaptable to his own conditions, are also necessary. This item appears to stymie most operators of small and medium-sized plants, as it is the rare shop that uses any kind of system other than rule of thumb. This is the situation even after years of prodding by trade associations and countless articles in trade publications.

Age of Specialization Here


Since we are in the age of specialization, it may be that the small plant owner should examine his operating philosophy and cast out the areas in which he finds he cannot compete. It is increasingly difficult to match the efficiency of the specialist, whether it be in composition, presswork, or binding. Certainly the job printer should analyze his operating costs in each of these specialties in order to determine which is the most profitable for him.


If machinery is idle part of the time, it is not carrying the load. It should therefore be discarded to provide room for more equipment in the areas which are working to capacity. For example, when accurate records are kept, it might be discovered that the Ludlow machine in a composing room is earning more money than a keyboard machine, or vice versa. When this becomes apparent, the printer may then decide to look for more work for the equipment earning the best profit margin, and may eventually become a specialist.


Most small printers get along without a formal sales program. The disadvantage here is that contacts may be lost because the owner-representative is too busy with work in hand to keep an account active. When he does find the time, his lack of training in modern sales technique keeps him from making the most of his opportunity. Certainly without a constructive attitude toward sales, the printer will never know when he can substitute one of the photographic devices for standard equipment, and at what point he can begin to capitalize on his investment.

A last and most important factor in the ability of the small printer to keep up with trends is his faith in the industry itself and his own part of it. The printing industry is on the move today and the plant owner must adapt himself to its needs. If he can’t keep up with the rapid changes, he will undoubtedly have to move aside. Only by interested understanding and the desire to advance with each technological change can the industry remain even closely related to its past history as a craft.

Should the printer refuse these responsibilities, then the specialist—without such roots—will take over and suit the industry to his own requirements.

This article first appeared in “The Composing Room” column of the January 1957 issue of The Inland Printer.