I can remember when MacIntosh computers were released in January of 1984, with 128K RAM of memory. It changed my life forever. When I opened Bartleby Press in 1986 it was a business in name only but that tiny screen computer revolutionized the print industry. I began by typesetting for a franchise print firm that used linotronic processing for their typesetting. For those of you under thirty it might as well as been as old as setting lead. The process for typesetting copy was either positive or negative. Positive is a photographic print that was then sent to a layout artist who cut and pasted (literally) copy in a format that was sent to a plate maker. The exposed press plates were made of paper and used on the press to create impressions. Consider the time and precision of labor needed to line up copy with a rule! With the MacIntosh typesetting was fast, accurate and inexpensive. I still employ an Eskofat camera for paper plates and will until it breaks and I cannot find replacement parts but the rubber cement, exacto knife and rules have all but disappeared in the art room. The art tables are reserved for piles of paper or a coffee stand.
I still have my Mac 512 and it works although I have not turned it on in years. It sits in the pressroom on a shelve in plain view. When I walk by the RipIt (computer to plate system), the digital press and the offset presses I am astounded at our progress in the print world and the continued success of the printed word in the Internet age.
About the Author:
Thomas Miner is the founder of Bartleby Press, a printing firm.
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