The automation in the newspaper world, where
lead is being replaced by electronics, leads
at this moment to far reaching changes, both in
technology and for the personnel in the printing business.
The old handicraft is increasingly being replaced by the computer.
As before the making of a newspaper begins at the
editorial office, where most of the articles are written.
Since the turn of the century the texts were typeset
with the use of the Linotype typesetting machine,
in which all letters hit by the typesetter
are immediately cast into lead lines,
according to an ingeneous casting process,
that is partially hidden from view.
The cast lines are automatically assembled to columns.
Although even here automation came in the course of time
with the help of punched ribbons, the large title letters
still had to be typeset manually.
The ordering of heads, articles and photographs
on the pages is performed by the lay-out men.
These men possess a great skill in
quickly reading of texts which are mirrored and upside down. 22
The corrections of just one misplaced character
requires the replacement of at least an entire line.
old typesetters profession disappears
your newspaper is being typeset by a computer
A text that has been put into a computer can be
recalled with a push on a button and additions,
movements or corrections can be
performed at hight speed.
The computer controls a photo typesetting machine,
that can print columns and texts, including
the head lines, on photographic paper
at a speed of 150 characters per second.
The lay-out man only needs a knive to put the texts from the
photographic paper, that has been covered with a layer of
gum arabic, onto the right spot.
Of course the introduction of this new technique
has had consequences for the old-school graphical designers.
For some it meant early retirement, for many
retraining for a new graphical profession.
After a negative has been made of every complete page,
this is transferred photographically onto
a layer of liquid synthetic resin.
This plastic printing sheet is then affixed on one of
the cilinders of the rolling press used for printing the newspaper.
There where the newspaper printing shops are in a transition phase
one can often still find plastic and lead
printing sheets next to each other on the cilinders.
But lead will disappear from everywhere within the foreseeable future.
The great rate of 60,000 newspapers per hour, at which
this printing press turns out a complete edition in
a very short time, signifies the care for speed
that the newspaper community has.
Due to the new electronic typesetting and lay-out
techniques the latest news will now reach
the reader even faster.