{"id":5446,"date":"2015-06-17T05:00:05","date_gmt":"2015-06-17T09:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=5446"},"modified":"2015-06-30T14:41:36","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T18:41:36","slug":"hot-off-the-presses-cutting-edge-technology-20th-century-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/06\/17\/hot-off-the-presses-cutting-edge-technology-20th-century-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot off the presses: Cutting-edge technology, 20th century style"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
A printer’s trade announcement from the late nineteenth century, when steam still billowed out from Pittsburgh’s flourishing “Printer’s Row.” (Unknown credit) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Advances
Advances in technology could also make print more accessible to the disabled — this Braille machine from 1966 could print nearly 100 times faster than previous models. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"From
From 1977, this cute but powerful new printer was just the “size of a coffee can.” According to the company, it would soon find wide use aboard aircraft and vehicles. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Shot
Shot in 1986, this photo features a vision of the future: the keyboard of a linotype machine. (Thomas Ondrey\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Linotype
Linotype operator and 40-year industry veteran Carl Heinsl examines his machine in 1986. (Thomas Ondrey\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Apprentice
Apprentice printer Clarence Walter is hard at work here; he needed six years of training to advance to the rank of journeyman. His instructor, Albert Henle, was a 25-year veteran of the printing industry — and a decorated veteran of World War II. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Students
Students at Carnegie Tech learn the tools of the trade. This particular tool was a newfangled color letter press, made at home in Pittsburgh. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Carnegie
Carnegie Tech students are hard at work studying typography in this picture, which accompanied an article entitled “Rise of the Graphic Arts.” (Stewart Love\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pittsburgher
Pittsburgher and ad man Mac McGrew shows off his font-crafting acumen in 1972. Cutting-edge design indeed. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Harold
Harold Gardner of W.G. Johnston, Co., one of Pittsburgh’s oldest printers when this image was published in 1960, shows off designs from as early as 1840. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Today, tech enthusiasts rave about the Apple Watch, the latest smartphone, and the newest operating system.<\/p>\n

Yet just a few decades ago, they sung the praises of linotype, teletype, and printers so small that, one company claimed, they would soon \u201cfind wide use in vehicles and aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n

To us, enthusiasm over portable printers might seem strange, antiquated, or even humorous. But that enthusiasm is worth revisiting — if only to remember what we might lose if print disappears.<\/p>\n

Take one question that animated mid-twentieth century writers: how to classify print. Ought it to take its place alongside the steel mills as a hallmark of modern industry? Or did it remain a carefully crafted art form?<\/p>\n

On one hand, twentieth century writers were keenly aware that print was becoming increasingly automated. Indeed, they often greeted this development with optimism. Photos for a 1986 feature in the Post-Gazette<\/i> showcased a shiny new linotype machine. The operator, the caption explained with no little wonderment (and perhaps a dash of sarcasm), \u201csits at the keyboard and makes, literally, a line of type.\u201d Another article, this one from 1966, touted a machine that could print Braille 100 times faster than previous models.<\/p>\n

Yet even as technology hurtled onward, print remained, by definition directed toward a physical product. Today, most designers spend their time in front of computer screens; algorithms and keyboards are the main tools of their trade. But before the digital world burst into existence, designers were far more intimate with the printing process. In a Post-Gazette <\/i>photo from 1960, an employee from one of the city\u2019s oldest print shops showed off designs from as early as 1840. In 1972, the Post-Gazette<\/i> captured local advertiser Mac McGrew reclining in front of an entire wall plastered with different typefaces. The accompanying article marveled at how \u201cthe printed word can be made to appeal to various personalities just by changing the style of the lettering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the continuous introduction of modern equipment into printing plants,\u201d one mid-century writer concluded, \u201cprinters still consider their work as a craft.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the mid-20th\u00a0century, printing may have become as much of an industry as it was an art. In either case, it was also a growing profession. In 1913, Carnegie Tech (which would later become part of Carnegie Mellon) piloted what was then the country’s only degree in printing administration. It would soon graduate hundreds of students, including many from outside the country.<\/p>\n

Above all, the printing industry was a sign that the city was \u201cmaking it.\u201d Ads from as late as the 1960s <\/a>boasted of the region\u2019s flourishing print industry and all the jobs it created. An article from 1964<\/a> touted plans for a cutting-edge printing facility, whose Oakland location would facilitate research partnerships (not unlike, perhaps, a more recent partnership between CMU and a certain ride-sharing startup). And as early as 1786<\/a>, some enterprising printers, confident that then-tiny Pittsburgh was destined to become a major city, started the Pittsburgh Gazette<\/i>: the first newspaper published west of the Alleghenies, and the forerunner to the Post-Gazette.<\/i><\/p>\n

A lot has changed since 1786. Much of the technology in particular seems to have changed within the last 50 years. Today, a printer perched atop a living-room table is an unremarkable sight. Just a couple decades ago, it would have seemed near-miraculous. But between our smartphones, tablets, (and, yes, smartwatches), we have less need for printers than ever before.<\/p>\n

What will happen to printing? It seems less and less likely to remain a booming industry. Perhaps, once again, it will become an art form. Maybe it will become an artifact of the past. Whatever the case, print will remain a crucial part of our history — at the Post-Gazette<\/i>, in Pittsburgh, and throughout the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do linotype, teletype, and portable printers have in common? They’re all innovations that Post-Gazette writers from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s heralded as cutting-edge. <\/p>\n

Look at the picturesHot off the presses: Cutting-edge technology, 20th century style<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":5454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[962,963,964,1250,1312,1051],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/press-training_picmonkeyed.jpg?fit=1766%2C1342&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2400,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/19\/the-wabash-bridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":5446,"position":0},"title":"The Wabash Bridge","date":"October 19, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The rail cars were from the Wabash-Pittsburg Terminal Railroad, an ill-fated venture by George Jay Gould to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Pittsburgh.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_mc3hybsuae1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C709&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2484,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/26\/duncan-park-at-54th-and-duncan-streets\/","url_meta":{"origin":5446,"position":1},"title":"Duncan Park at 54th and Duncan streets","date":"September 26, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Want to see how this section of Lawrenceville has changed in the past 60 years?","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_mawvtkRC8O1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C964&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2521,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/14\/oct-10-1956-president-eisenhower-riding-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":5446,"position":2},"title":"President Eisenhower, riding up Fifth, greets Pittsburghers","date":"September 14, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\u201c150,000 Cheer Ike in Roaring Welcome,\u201d read the Pittsburgh Press headline.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_ma9g8epjaU1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1152%2C918&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1639,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/07\/01\/former-enemies-come-together-at-gettysburg\/","url_meta":{"origin":5446,"position":3},"title":"Former enemies come together at Gettysburg","date":"July 1, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"They laughed with giddy abandon, flung their arms around each other and made silly jokes.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/tumblr_mp2f7p0AKX1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C567&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2272,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/20\/mysterious-war-planes-over-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":5446,"position":4},"title":"Mysterious war planes over Pittsburgh","date":"November 20, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"We\u2019d love to learn more. If you have any information that would help tell the story of this photograph, please contact us.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/tumblr_mdlqxvLksP1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=666%2C910&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":304,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/09\/01\/pittsburgh-post-gazettes-newsroom-in-transition\/","url_meta":{"origin":5446,"position":5},"title":"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s newsroom in transition","date":"September 1, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"This is the same floor that Post-Gazette reporters work on today, but the scene couldn\u2019t be more different.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/tumblr_nb2zr7F8cv1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C956&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5446"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5477,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5446\/revisions\/5477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}