Printers
hot, cold
on new
type
ROLL OVER, GUTENBERG. You've
been replaced by a computer
At the University printshop the change
was slow in coming The state printing
office in Salem had to be convinced it was
necessary Funds had to be allocated, and
a new. climate-controlled room had to be
built in the basement of Allen Hall where the
University printshop has been housed
since the journalism building was built in
the 1950s
But like all change, it was inevitable —
and the new computer typesetters went on
line last month
To the journeymen composers and
printers who work there the change has
been something to get used to, to think
about and philosophize on To Walter Par
sons, the printshop superintendent, the
change was necessary
"You can't remain static.' says Parsons,
a quiet, easy-going professional who has
been in the pnnting business since 1936
When Parsons took over as superinten
dent eight years ago, all type was set on
four mammoth Linotype machines that cast
individual letters out of molten lead hence
the term "hot type” for this method of
setting type Computer typesetters, or
cold type” systems use a photographic
process to set type for printing
Speed was the overriding reason for the
development of hot-lead typesetting In
stead of setting individual letters by hand to
form a line of type lead type casters were
built early in the 20th Century to automate
the process
In the last 10 years, however most major
printing operations and newspapers
switched to cold type and photo offset
printing With the speed of electricity, type
1
could be set almost as fast as it was typed
But speed is funny," says John Kulick,
a 25-year veteran Linotype operator
Kulick, who has set type tor University
publications since 1975, says computer
typesetting technology currently is not
always that much faster than its hot-lead
counterpart
"It still has to be keyboarded," Kulick
says He maintains that a standard type
writer keyboard — used on all computer
typesetters — is "inefficient ”
Keys were first positioned to keep letters
most commonly typed together — like "th"
or "ck" — apart so the keys wouldn't stick
during fast typing on old-style manual
typewriters, he says Computer keyboards
haven't changed
Linotype keyboards are designed differ
ently, Kulick says and a skilled operator
can type much more quickly
Nonetheless, the new computer awes
him "There's no limit to it," he says "It just
depends on the software "
ANYONE WALKING PAST the win
dows on the west side of Allen Hall is
treated to a look at history — and at Kulick,
who spends much of his time bent over one
of the Linotypes
The machine he operates is something of
a cross between a Sherman tank and a
Swiss watch Standing more than six feet
high and taking up as much room a four
refrigerators, the Linotype clatters and
clanks out each line of type as Kulick
operates the keyboard
Long cast-iron rods revolving on greased
bearings swoop up the length of the ma
chine, nimbly grasp the molded letters and
fit them into lines A 20-pound bar of lead
hangs over an iron melting pot that feeds
t
the tetter molds Cast lines of type rattle
down slots where they are mechanically
locked Into forms
About 10 feet away from the Linotypes,
in a special, soundproofed and
whitewashed room sit two computer ter
minals The temperature hovers evenly
between 60 and 70 degrees, and the light
ing is soft neon
GARY SMITH IS one of the typesetters
in the University shop making the switch
from hot to cold typesetting The adjust
ment has been easy, he says
"I'm not a nostalgia buff," Smith states
frankly "I've been looking forward to this
for years
Finding all the capabilities and eccen
tricities of the new system has been his
prime concern for the past month
"I do have a fondness for linotype,"
Smith says but he doesn't waste much
time looking back
"It's like a favorite pair of shoes that have
gone beyond their use I buy a new pair, but
I still like to put on the old ones
"It's like being a skilled craftsman and
then having a new tool to use ”
But Kulick, who says he can remember
his uncle buying a Model A Ford and
recounts being excited about the landing of
the Hindenberg, continues to operate the
Linotype for the shop between cold type
jobs He seems to have no problem wel
coming the inevitability of the computer
age
"In my lifetime I've seen fantastic
changes,” he says. "I like new things "
By Harry Esteve
Photos by Mark Pynes
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