Printer Craft

Printer Craft History

The Printer Craft began after the discovery of AIVAS at Landing in the middle of the Ninth Pass. The need for printed instructions to support the Plan, plus the wealth of information on all Crafts received from AIVAS, caused many Harpers to try their hands at the Printing Craft.

Printing began using the peripherals supplied by AIVAS plus machines constructed from spare parts found in the Catherine Caves. These resources were limited, and Pernese technology was not able to reproduce them. The printers then turned to simpler methods of printing using handset type composition and simple letterpress presses (printing one page at a time directly from the type) as Printer Halls began to be established throughout Pern.

As demand for printed material increased over the years, many attempts were made to increase the speed and efficiency of presses and composition. The first break came about Turn 400 of the Ninth Interval when Master Compositor Picason developed a working model of a typesetting machine that a good operator could use to set as much body type in a candlemark as any five or six handset compositors working at top speed.

Just a few years later, Master Pressman Tangolst finished the construction of a flatbed-cylinder press that would print eight pages at a time in two colors on one side of a sheet of paper at a speed of over 2,000 impressions per candlemark. About the same time, Hallmaster Perfektin demonstrated his press which would print in one color on both sides of a sheet in one pass through the press.

These machines, plus the bindery equipment needed to support their production capacity, are the workhorses of every Printer Hall on Pern. Who knows what the future will bring?

Note: After a hurricane destroyed Topaz Sea Hold, the Hall became a subsidiary of the Harper Hall at Emerald Falls Hold. When the Harper Hall was destroyed by an arson's fire, the Printers moved along with the Harper Hall to Dolphin Cove Weyr where they were located for the 1-2 Turns it took to reconstruct the Hall at Emerald Falls Hold (the current location) of the Harper Hall

Printer Hall Staff

Editorial Staff

• EDITOR: Supervise job from start to finish. Assign writers and/or illustrators to a project if needed.

• STAFF: Review and mark up copy prior to typesetting for type style, size, and layout of finished piece. Proof galleys and final pages before printing (if no proofreader).
  • RANKS: 1 Master, 2-3 Journeymen/women, several Apprentices to act as "copy boys" delivering copy to Compositor and proofs from Composing Room and Press Room.

• WRITER: Research topics and write the manuscript for a book.
  • RANKS: 1 or more Journeymen/women.

• ILLUSTRATOR: Research topics and create original illustrations to go with the text. Do the necessary wood carving or metal engraving to make illustrations ready for printing.
  • RANKS: 1 or more Journeymen/women.

Composing Room

• COMPOSITOR: Set the type, by hand for larger font sizes (headlines). Set type for text paragraphs by typesetting machine. Put the text for an article together (in galleys) and pull proofs for proofreading before printing. Pull galley proofs for proofreading. Make corrections required. Compose type into page forms following layout supplied and pull proofs of pages for final ok. Assemble pages into forms for the press (makeready).
  • RANKS: 1 Master, 2-3 Journeymen/women, several Apprentices.

• PROOFREADER: Reads galleys and pages for errors, typos, etc.
  • RANKS: 2-3 Journeymen/women as needed.

• TYPOGRAPHER: Make replacement type letters as type gets worn by use, for both hand set letters and matrixes for typesetting machne. Design and make new type faces as desired.
  • RANKS: 1-3 Journeymen/women.

Pressroom

• PRESSMAN: Operates the press. Prepares ink for press as required. Cleans the press between jobs.
  • RANKS: 1 Master, enough Journeymen/women to operate all the presses in the Pressroom, and Apprentices to assist (especially on larger presses) and take care of paper and ink storage.

• TECHNICIAN: Maintain machinery, both presses and typesetting machines. Make ink, paper, chemicals for etching and cleaning solvents for type, presses and other machinery.
  • RANKS: 1-3 Journeymen/women.

Bindery

• BINDERY WORKER: Gather, collate, fold, trim, stitch, and bind the finished book or other printed work as needed. Store and prepare for shipment all finished printed work.
  • RANKS: 1 Master, several Journeymen/women and Apprentices

Printer Hall: Apprentice Schedule

Apprentice Schedule

Apprentices attend classes on an even/odd schedul e for the first Turn. There is a five minute grace period between classes. Past the five minutes, the apprentice may be written up (at the teacher's discretion).More than five write-ups will result in a disciplinary action by the Master of Apprentices.

Even Days (Juniors)

• c/m 6-7 Prepare for day, assist in kitchens if assigned
• c/m 7-8 Breakfast
• c/m 8-10 Class: Press Parts
• c/m 10-12 Kitchen duty
• c/m 12-13 Lunch
• c/m 13-15 Class: Mold making
• c/m 15-17 Class: The Alloy
• c/m 17-18 Dinner
• The rest of the night is devoted to study, free time, etc.
• Lights out at 22 c/m

Odd Days (Juniors)

• c/m 6-7 Prepare for day, assist in kitchens if assigned
• c/m 7-8 Breakfast
• c/m 8-10 Class: Ink Making
• c/m 10-12 Dorm maintenance
• c/m 12-13 Lunch
• c/m 13-15 Class: Bookbinding
• c/m 15-17 Class: Wood-carving/Illustrations
• c/m 17-18 Dinner
• The rest of the night is devoted to study, free time, etc.
• Lights out at 22 c/m

After the first turn, the junior apprentices will rotate through the following areas in three to six month increments.

• Editorial: learn copy markup, page layout and proofreading. Selection of paper and ink for a project.

• Composing Room: learn handset typesetting (takes lots of practice to learn the "case"), operate a proof press, and page makeup into forms for the press.

• Pressroom: Press makeready, press operation, cleanup and basic press maintenance.

• Bindery: Cutting paper, collating, folding, binding, trimming, stitching and packaging. Storing finished printed material.

• Illustrations: Concentrate of technical drawings (drafting) and selection of illustrations to go along with text.

• Paper Storage: Caring for paper, cutting paper from rolls for use on the various presses.

• Ink Storage: Mixing and dispensing ink for projects.

• Typography: Casting handset type characters.