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David Hughes
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Printers' Tales Kindle Edition

by David Hughes (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
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Printers Tales is a compilation of over 30 stories, from various authors, about the printing industry in the pre-digital age.
Before computers became common-place in the late 1970s, to produce a printed page required the skill and expertise of a multitude of time-served craftsmen.
Compositors worked with lead type to create words letter by letter. Paper was pressed on to inked letters to reproduce words and sentences. Many of these skills have long-since been forgotten.
This compilation brings together memories of the printing and newspaper industries from that era.
A lot of the stories involve the Linotype machine, a mechanical typesetting machine, that was used to produce newspapers, and other publications, from the 1880s until the computer revolution of the 1970s/80s.
There are stories, poems and limericks from authors from the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand, all of whom share a common workplace experience.
From tales from American "tramp printers" who were able to travel the length and breadth of the United States working on various newspapers on the way, to the unique language and terminology used by compositors on a London Fleet Street "companionship" and lots of stories in between.
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  1. Print length
    102 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    September 5, 2012
  4. File size
    207 KB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0096U8B10
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 5, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 207 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 102 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6 ratings

About the authors

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  1. David Hughes

    David Hughes

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    David Hughes trained as a letterpress typesetter in the 1970s, gaining a (now obsolete) City and Guilds qualification at Kitson College of Technology in Leeds, UK.

    He worked on the Evening Press in York and the South London Press as a Linotype operator. After retraining on the computerised "new technology" he hung up his apron in the early 90s, mainly due to boredom!

    He keeps in touch with the letterpress scene through his printers' nostalgia website "Metal Type" and keeps up with the practical side of things producing letterpress business cards at Metal Type Printing.

    See more on the author's page
  2. David Hughes

    David Hughes

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    David Hughes trained as a letterpress typesetter in the 1970s, gaining a (now obsolete) City and Guilds qualification at Kitson College of Technology in Leeds, UK.

    He worked on the Evening Press in York and the South London Press as a Linotype operator. After retraining on the computerised "new technology" he hung up his apron in the early 90s, mainly due to boredom!

    He keeps in touch with the letterpress scene through his printers' nostalgia website "Metal Type."

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
6 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • David L. Kent
    4.0 out of 5 stars Printers' Tales
    Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Invaluable accounts from printers around the world; a real contribution to printing history. These are original, not reprints from other books or previously published accounts. Highly recommended for letterpress printers, or anyone interested in the current behind-the-scenes operation of Gutenberg's invention of five centuries ago.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Memories revived
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed the trip back into the world of hot metal in Printers' Tales. There were a few words in the glossary that I hadn't come across but they were from American authors. I was even astonished to find some of my own contributions among others of high quality, by authors from around the world. They certainly brought into my mind images of Linotypes and Intertypes (both of which I operated until the ubiquitous Macintosh computer changed everything for ever). Anyone who has a father or grandfather who worked among hot metal will have something here to throw a light onto their lives. Thoroughly enjoyable. - Mike Wilson
    Report
  • PeterGriffin
    5.0 out of 5 stars WAYZGOOSE of tales!
    Reviewed in Australia on February 1, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Great book, David . . . Just nuttin' like a good Wayzgoose, with keg ginger beer!
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Good read, interesting history
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