Underwhelmed, but I’ve never lived in a village. I have read the book, but
it was, to my taste, more of an outline than a history of someone”s life.

On the other hand, a close friend who spent the first 50 or so years of her
life in a village where her generation were at least the third, and mos
villagers knew her parents, if not the three fully sighted children, she
enjoyed it and could think of things from the past that might have happened
in her Kentish village.

Mrs McT

On Wed, 4 Oct 2023 14:45:55 -0000 (UTC), Chris
<chris.mcmillan@ntlworld.com> scrawled in the dust...

>Underwhelmed, but I’ve never lived in a village. I have read the book, but
>it was, to my taste, more of an outline than a history of someone”s life.
>
>On the other hand, a close friend who spent the first 50 or so years of her
>life in a village where her generation were at least the third, and mos
>villagers knew her parents, if not the three fully sighted children, she
>enjoyed it and could think of things from the past that might have happened
>in her Kentish village.

I've livid in villages where lots of people knew my mother so talked to me
as if I knew them.

I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for playing
'spot the tarmac'.
I also enjoyed the Ambridge reading, and look forward to part 2.
I enjoyed the
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

Penny wrote:

>I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for playing
>'spot the tarmac'.

One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
manual printer.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

On 05/10/2023 08:14, Chris J Dixon wrote:
> Penny wrote:
>
>> I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for playing
>> 'spot the tarmac'.
>
> One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
> and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
> manual printer.

You think that was a load of (John) bull?

john

On Wed, 04 Oct 2023 20:09:15 +0100, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
wrote:

>I've livid in villages...

Villages have made me pretty angry too.

Nick

Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> On Wed, 04 Oct 2023 20:09:15 +0100, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I've livid in villages...
>
> Villages have made me pretty angry too.
>
> Nick
>

I think you can get creams for Villagmus. ;-)

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:14:17 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
wrote:

>Penny wrote:
>
>>I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for playing
>>'spot the tarmac'.
>
>One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
>and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
>manual printer.
>
Was this seen on TV/Film/Stage or taken from the text of the book?

I defer to Penny on matters pinting but I can comment on my experience
as School Assistant Printer when I was in the fifth and sixth forms.
The Head Printer[1] and I, using loose lead type, could put a
programme for a school play or concert together in a couple of
lunchtimes. It was only a folded sheet, printed on both sides and the
front page was already made up from previous productions and only
needed the new title etc. From what I've seen in engravings and the
like of publications in Flora Thompson's day I doubt her newspaper
were any more sophisticated than that. Emphatically not in the
Sunday-Times-with-three-colour-supplements league, anyway.

Nick
[1]Still one of my best friends and a shoe-in for the job because his
father was a compositor on the Daily Mirror

Nick Odell wrote:

>On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:14:17 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
>wrote:

>>One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
>>and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
>>manual printer.
>>
>Was this seen on TV/Film/Stage or taken from the text of the book?

It was the BBC series. My memory has faded, but IIRC the
newspaper as being read on-screen had the proportions of a
broadsheet, dense with text, but the press looked of this form,
but with a smaller platten:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/405042560208155476/

I visited Blists Hill around that time, where they have an old
print shop, and mentioned my doubts, with which they were in
agreement.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:34:37 +0100, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca>
scrawled in the dust...

>On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:14:17 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>Penny wrote:
>>
>>>I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for playing
>>>'spot the tarmac'.
>>
>>One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
>>and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
>>manual printer.
>>
>Was this seen on TV/Film/Stage or taken from the text of the book?
>
>I defer to Penny on matters pinting

I don't drink many pints these days...
.... or do much in the way of printing.

>but I can comment on my experience
>as School Assistant Printer when I was in the fifth and sixth forms.
>The Head Printer[1] and I, using loose lead type, could put a
>programme for a school play or concert together in a couple of
>lunchtimes. It was only a folded sheet, printed on both sides and the
>front page was already made up from previous productions and only
>needed the new title etc.

I don't think I've done much more than that on the old proofing press we
had at college. It was rotary, as far as the paper was concerned, so much
walking back and forth turning the handle on the outward journey was
involved, but we never did large numbers of anything. I loved hand-setting
though, and locking it into the form.

>From what I've seen in engravings and the
>like of publications in Flora Thompson's day I doubt her newspaper
>were any more sophisticated than that. Emphatically not in the
>Sunday-Times-with-three-colour-supplements.

My thoughts were on a few copies circulating and being read allowed to
groups of people, most of whom could not read. I don't remember anything
about it from the TV series.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:14:17 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
> wrote:
>
>> Penny wrote:
>>
>>> I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for playing
>>> 'spot the tarmac'.
>>
>> One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
>> and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
>> manual printer.
>>
> Was this seen on TV/Film/Stage or taken from the text of the book?
>
> I defer to Penny on matters pinting but I can comment on my experience
> as School Assistant Printer when I was in the fifth and sixth forms.
> The Head Printer[1] and I, using loose lead type, could put a
> programme for a school play or concert together in a couple of
> lunchtimes. It was only a folded sheet, printed on both sides and the
> front page was already made up from previous productions and only
> needed the new title etc. From what I've seen in engravings and the
> like of publications in Flora Thompson's day I doubt her newspaper
> were any more sophisticated than that. Emphatically not in the
> Sunday-Times-with-three-colour-supplements league, anyway.
>
>
> Nick
> [1]Still one of my best friends and a shoe-in for the job because his
> father was a compositor on the Daily Mirror
>

In my day… I would first cut the Gestetner stencil using a fairly heavy
touch on the typewriter keys and, having just about run the bottle of
correcting fluid dry in producing a very pink pocked stencil, load it onto
the drum of the Gestetner duplicator and then run off a few proofs and
evened up the inking, run off copies of the School Magazine that I had
previously written…

Or

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

Mike McMillan wrote:

>In my day… I would first cut the Gestetner stencil using a fairly heavy
>touch on the typewriter keys and, having just about run the bottle of
>correcting fluid dry in producing a very pink pocked stencil, load it onto
>the drum of the Gestetner duplicator and then run off a few proofs and
>evened up the inking, run off copies of the School Magazine that I had
>previously written…

I remember my dad preparing exam paper masters in just that way.
Much muttering, and the heady aroma of the correcting fluid.

As they were maths papers, he also had to use the stylus with the
stencil against a textured backing sheet for drawings and some
symbols.

Occasionally he did some printing at home using one of these
little screen printers

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266166281416

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> wrote:
> Mike McMillan wrote:
>
>> In my day… I would first cut the Gestetner stencil using a fairly heavy
>> touch on the typewriter keys and, having just about run the bottle of
>> correcting fluid dry in producing a very pink pocked stencil, load it onto
>> the drum of the Gestetner duplicator and then run off a few proofs and
>> evened up the inking, run off copies of the School Magazine that I had
>> previously written…
>
> I remember my dad preparing exam paper masters in just that way.
> Much muttering, and the heady aroma of the correcting fluid.
>
> As they were maths papers, he also had to use the stylus with the
> stencil against a textured backing sheet for drawings and some
> symbols.
>
> Occasionally he did some printing at home using one of these
> little screen printers
>
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266166281416
>
> Chris

I was privileged as the duplicator was for staff use only normally, I had
to create an 8 page A5 newsletter so it actually required 4 of the A4 page
stencils in total.. Strange how typos appeared in the final copy that
weren’t there during proofing and duplicating though; they would always
appear of course! ;-)

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On Fri, 06 Oct 2023 10:19:24 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
wrote:

>Mike McMillan wrote:
>
>>In my day… I would first cut the Gestetner stencil using a fairly heavy
>>touch on the typewriter keys and, having just about run the bottle of
>>correcting fluid dry in producing a very pink pocked stencil, load it onto
>>the drum of the Gestetner duplicator and then run off a few proofs and
>>evened up the inking, run off copies of the School Magazine that I had
>>previously written…
>
>I remember my dad preparing exam paper masters in just that way.
>Much muttering, and the heady aroma of the correcting fluid.
>
>As they were maths papers, he also had to use the stylus with the
>stencil against a textured backing sheet for drawings and some
>symbols.
>
>Occasionally he did some printing at home using one of these
>little screen printers
>
>https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266166281416
>
>Chris

I think I might have made ESOL worksheets that way. Before some places
(church halls or community centres) got photocopiers. There was
another way too..umbrealla...

Vicky wrote:

>On Fri, 06 Oct 2023 10:19:24 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
>wrote:

>>I remember my dad preparing exam paper masters in just that way.
>>Much muttering, and the heady aroma of the correcting fluid.
>>
>>As they were maths papers, he also had to use the stylus with the
>>stencil against a textured backing sheet for drawings and some
>>symbols.
>>
>>Occasionally he did some printing at home using one of these
>>little screen printers
>>
>>https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266166281416
>
>I think I might have made ESOL worksheets that way. Before some places
>(church halls or community centres) got photocopiers. There was
>another way too..umbrealla...

Would that be spirit duplicators, like Banda?

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_duplicator>

You placed a sheet similar to carbon paper face-up behind the
master, so everything typed, or written, picked up the colour.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

On Thursday, 5 October 2023 at 22:12:24 UTC+1, Penny wrote:
> On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:34:37 +0100, Nick Odell <nicko...@yahoo.ca>
> scrawled in the dust...
> >On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:14:17 +0100, Chris J Dixon <ch...@cdixon.me.uk>
> >wrote:
> >
> >>Penny wrote:
> >>
> >>>I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for playing
> >>>'spot the tarmac'.
> >>
> >>One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
> >>and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
> >>manual printer.
> >>
> >Was this seen on TV/Film/Stage or taken from the text of the book?
> >
> >I defer to Penny on matters pinting
> I don't drink many pints these days...
> ... or do much in the way of printing.
> >but I can comment on my experience
> >as School Assistant Printer when I was in the fifth and sixth forms.
> >The Head Printer[1] and I, using loose lead type, could put a
> >programme for a school play or concert together in a couple of
> >lunchtimes. It was only a folded sheet, printed on both sides and the
> >front page was already made up from previous productions and only
> >needed the new title etc.
> I don't think I've done much more than that on the old proofing press we
> had at college. It was rotary, as far as the paper was concerned, so much
> walking back and forth turning the handle on the outward journey was
> involved, but we never did large numbers of anything. I loved hand-setting
> though, and locking it into the form.
> >From what I've seen in engravings and the
> >like of publications in Flora Thompson's day I doubt her newspaper
> >were any more sophisticated than that. Emphatically not in the
> >Sunday-Times-with-three-colour-supplements.
>
> My thoughts were on a few copies circulating and being read allowed to
> groups of people, most of whom could not read. I don't remember anything
> about it from the TV series.
> --
> Penny
> Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

I too was in my school printing club.

On Fri, 06 Oct 2023 12:13:16 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
wrote:

>Vicky wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 06 Oct 2023 10:19:24 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
>>wrote:
>
>>>I remember my dad preparing exam paper masters in just that way.
>>>Much muttering, and the heady aroma of the correcting fluid.
>>>
>>>As they were maths papers, he also had to use the stylus with the
>>>stencil against a textured backing sheet for drawings and some
>>>symbols.
>>>
>>>Occasionally he did some printing at home using one of these
>>>little screen printers
>>>
>>>https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266166281416
>>
>>I think I might have made ESOL worksheets that way. Before some places
>>(church halls or community centres) got photocopiers. There was
>>another way too..umbrealla...
>
>Would that be spirit duplicators, like Banda?
>
><https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_duplicator>
>
>You placed a sheet similar to carbon paper face-up behind the
>master, so everything typed, or written, picked up the colour.
>
>Chris

I think it might be that, thanks.

Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 06 Oct 2023 10:19:24 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
> wrote:
>
>> Mike McMillan wrote:
>>
>>> In my day… I would first cut the Gestetner stencil using a fairly heavy
>>> touch on the typewriter keys and, having just about run the bottle of
>>> correcting fluid dry in producing a very pink pocked stencil, load it onto
>>> the drum of the Gestetner duplicator and then run off a few proofs and
>>> evened up the inking, run off copies of the School Magazine that I had
>>> previously written…
>>
>> I remember my dad preparing exam paper masters in just that way.
>> Much muttering, and the heady aroma of the correcting fluid.
>>
>> As they were maths papers, he also had to use the stylus with the
>> stencil against a textured backing sheet for drawings and some
>> symbols.
>>
>> Occasionally he did some printing at home using one of these
>> little screen printers
>>
>> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266166281416
>>
>> Chris
>
>
> I think I might have made ESOL worksheets that way. Before some places
> (church halls or community centres) got photocopiers. There was
> another way too..umbrealla...
>

There were what was known as ‘Spirit Duplicators (they were produced by
Roneo as I recall); a master sheet was typed or drawn on then the embedded
‘emulsion’ from this master sheet was coated with methylated spirit (sold
by a posh name at high price of course!) and then pressure rolled onto
paper, this produced a blue image and was limited to approx 50 copies
before the emulsion became too weak to produce half-decent copies. Our
students used these on a daily basis before photocopying became economic.

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 06/10/2023 13:22, Tony Smith wrote:
> On Thursday, 5 October 2023 at 22:12:24 UTC+1, Penny wrote:
>> On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:34:37 +0100, Nick Odell <nicko...@yahoo.ca>
>> scrawled in the dust...
>>> On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:14:17 +0100, Chris J Dixon <ch...@cdixon.me.uk>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Penny wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for playing
>>>>> 'spot the tarmac'.
>>>>
>>>> One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
>>>> and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
>>>> manual printer.
>>>>
>>> Was this seen on TV/Film/Stage or taken from the text of the book?
>>>
>>> I defer to Penny on matters pinting
>> I don't drink many pints these days...
>> ... or do much in the way of printing.
>>> but I can comment on my experience
>>> as School Assistant Printer when I was in the fifth and sixth forms.
>>> The Head Printer[1] and I, using loose lead type, could put a
>>> programme for a school play or concert together in a couple of
>>> lunchtimes. It was only a folded sheet, printed on both sides and the
>>> front page was already made up from previous productions and only
>>> needed the new title etc.
>> I don't think I've done much more than that on the old proofing press we
>> had at college. It was rotary, as far as the paper was concerned, so much
>> walking back and forth turning the handle on the outward journey was
>> involved, but we never did large numbers of anything. I loved hand-setting
>> though, and locking it into the form.
>> >From what I've seen in engravings and the
>>> like of publications in Flora Thompson's day I doubt her newspaper
>>> were any more sophisticated than that. Emphatically not in the
>>> Sunday-Times-with-three-colour-supplements.
>>
>> My thoughts were on a few copies circulating and being read allowed to
>> groups of people, most of whom could not read. I don't remember anything
>> about it from the TV series.
>> --
>> Penny
>> Annoyed by The Archers since 1959
>
> I too was in my school printing club.

I had never realised these were so prolific. I ran ours - largely
because everyone else was older and left.

I do remember seeing a printing press in a museum somewhere and thinking
it was the same as the one we had had at school.

--
Ric

In message <bpqvhid75c4h7oiq494944m5g1s164p6dc@4ax.com> at Fri, 6 Oct
2023 12:13:16, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> writes
[]
>You placed a sheet similar to carbon paper face-up behind the
>master, so everything typed, or written, picked up the colour.
>
>Chris

Colour is right; I remember something where the default colour was
purple, though you could get a green.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

You'll need to have this fish in your ear. (First series, fit the first.)

In message <ufp6h4$1j9q0$1@dont-email.me> at Fri, 6 Oct 2023 15:44:51,
Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> writes
[]
>I do remember seeing a printing press in a museum somewhere and
>thinking it was the same as the one we had had at school.
>
One of the two times I visited Bletchley, their computer museum had a
plotter the same model as the one (I can still remember the number, hp
9872C) we were still using at work. (I intended to bring up this fact if
anyone ever objected to any application for us to get a new one, but
high-resolution printing - and the decline in general of paper -
overtook it, and we never did.)

Spelling-checker suggests "Blotchily" (-:
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

You'll need to have this fish in your ear. (First series, fit the first.)

On 06-Oct-23 15:44, Joe Kerr wrote:
> On 06/10/2023 13:22, Tony Smith wrote:
>> On Thursday, 5 October 2023 at 22:12:24 UTC+1, Penny wrote:
>>> On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:34:37 +0100, Nick Odell <nicko...@yahoo.ca>
>>> scrawled in the dust...
>>>> On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:14:17 +0100, Chris J Dixon <ch...@cdixon.me.uk>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Penny wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for
>>>>>> playing
>>>>>> 'spot the tarmac'.
>>>>>
>>>>> One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
>>>>> and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
>>>>> manual printer.
>>>>>
>>>> Was this seen on TV/Film/Stage or taken from the text of the book?
>>>>
>>>> I defer to Penny on matters pinting
>>> I don't drink many pints these days...
>>> ... or do much in the way of printing.
>>>> but I can comment on my experience
>>>> as School Assistant Printer when I was in the fifth and sixth forms.
>>>> The Head Printer[1] and I, using loose lead type, could put a
>>>> programme for a school play or concert together in a couple of
>>>> lunchtimes. It was only a folded sheet, printed on both sides and the
>>>> front page was already made up from previous productions and only
>>>> needed the new title etc.
>>> I don't think I've done much more than that on the old proofing press we
>>> had at college. It was rotary, as far as the paper was concerned, so
>>> much
>>> walking back and forth turning the handle on the outward journey was
>>> involved, but we never did large numbers of anything. I loved
>>> hand-setting
>>> though, and locking it into the form.
>>> >From what I've seen in engravings and the
>>>> like of publications in Flora Thompson's day I doubt her newspaper
>>>> were any more sophisticated than that. Emphatically not in the
>>>> Sunday-Times-with-three-colour-supplements.
>>>
>>> My thoughts were on a few copies circulating and being read allowed to
>>> groups of people, most of whom could not read. I don't remember anything
>>> about it from the TV series.
>>> --
>>> Penny
>>> Annoyed by The Archers since 1959
>>
>> I too was in my school printing club.
>
> I had never realised these were so prolific. I ran ours - largely
> because everyone else was older and left.
>
> I do remember seeing a printing press in a museum somewhere and thinking
> it was the same as the one we had had at school.

That is one of those "I'm getting old" moments - when a museum has an
ancient artefact that you used on a day-to-day basis.

--
Sam Plusnet

On Fri, 6 Oct 2023 19:26:04 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

>On 06-Oct-23 15:44, Joe Kerr wrote:
>> On 06/10/2023 13:22, Tony Smith wrote:
>>> On Thursday, 5 October 2023 at 22:12:24 UTC+1, Penny wrote:
>>>> On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:34:37 +0100, Nick Odell <nicko...@yahoo.ca>
>>>> scrawled in the dust...
>>>>> On Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:14:17 +0100, Chris J Dixon <ch...@cdixon.me.uk>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Penny wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I haven't read the book but enjoyed the TV series - not just for
>>>>>>> playing
>>>>>>> 'spot the tarmac'.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> One of my favourite implausibilities is that one person could set
>>>>>> and print a newspaper single-handed, and on a tiny single-sheet
>>>>>> manual printer.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Was this seen on TV/Film/Stage or taken from the text of the book?
>>>>>
>>>>> I defer to Penny on matters pinting
>>>> I don't drink many pints these days...
>>>> ... or do much in the way of printing.
>>>>> but I can comment on my experience
>>>>> as School Assistant Printer when I was in the fifth and sixth forms.
>>>>> The Head Printer[1] and I, using loose lead type, could put a
>>>>> programme for a school play or concert together in a couple of
>>>>> lunchtimes. It was only a folded sheet, printed on both sides and the
>>>>> front page was already made up from previous productions and only
>>>>> needed the new title etc.
>>>> I don't think I've done much more than that on the old proofing press we
>>>> had at college. It was rotary, as far as the paper was concerned, so
>>>> much
>>>> walking back and forth turning the handle on the outward journey was
>>>> involved, but we never did large numbers of anything. I loved
>>>> hand-setting
>>>> though, and locking it into the form.
>>>> >From what I've seen in engravings and the
>>>>> like of publications in Flora Thompson's day I doubt her newspaper
>>>>> were any more sophisticated than that. Emphatically not in the
>>>>> Sunday-Times-with-three-colour-supplements.
>>>>
>>>> My thoughts were on a few copies circulating and being read allowed to
>>>> groups of people, most of whom could not read. I don't remember anything
>>>> about it from the TV series.
>>>> --
>>>> Penny
>>>> Annoyed by The Archers since 1959
>>>
>>> I too was in my school printing club.
>>
>> I had never realised these were so prolific. I ran ours - largely
>> because everyone else was older and left.
>>
>> I do remember seeing a printing press in a museum somewhere and thinking
>> it was the same as the one we had had at school.
>
>That is one of those "I'm getting old" moments - when a museum has an
>ancient artefact that you used on a day-to-day basis.

That is one of those "I'm getting old" moments - when a museum has an
ancient artefact that you still use on a day-to-day basis.

--
Regards, Paul Herber
https://www.paulherber.co.uk/

On Fri, 6 Oct 2023 19:26:04 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
the dust...
>On 06-Oct-23 15:44, Joe Kerr wrote:
>> I do remember seeing a printing press in a museum somewhere and thinking
>> it was the same as the one we had had at school.
>
>That is one of those "I'm getting old" moments - when a museum has an
>ancient artefact that you used on a day-to-day basis.

I was amazed to see a poufe in the shape of a tortoise turn up on the
Repair Shop a while back. The husgod bought me an identical item in the
early '80s. Mine is still in good order, having survived 4 children, 4
dogs, and 6 cats. I think it still lives in d#2's house, though she may
have moved it to the attic (I haven't visited Kent for a while).
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Fri, 6 Oct 2023 14:03:09 -0000 (UTC), Mike McMillan
<toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> scrawled in the dust...

>Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Fri, 06 Oct 2023 10:19:24 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>
>>>> In my day? I would first cut the Gestetner stencil using a fairly heavy
>>>> touch on the typewriter keys and, having just about run the bottle of
>>>> correcting fluid dry in producing a very pink pocked stencil, load it onto
>>>> the drum of the Gestetner duplicator and then run off a few proofs and
>>>> evened up the inking, run off copies of the School Magazine that I had
>>>> previously written?
>>>
>>> I remember my dad preparing exam paper masters in just that way.
>>> Much muttering, and the heady aroma of the correcting fluid.
>>>
>>> As they were maths papers, he also had to use the stylus with the
>>> stencil against a textured backing sheet for drawings and some
>>> symbols.
>>>
>>> Occasionally he did some printing at home using one of these
>>> little screen printers
>>>
>>> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266166281416
>>>
>>> Chris
>>
>>
>> I think I might have made ESOL worksheets that way. Before some places
>> (church halls or community centres) got photocopiers. There was
>> another way too..umbrealla...
>>
>
>There were what was known as ‘Spirit Duplicators (they were produced by
>Roneo as I recall); a master sheet was typed or drawn on then the embedded
>‘emulsion’ from this master sheet was coated with methylated spirit (sold
>by a posh name at high price of course!) and then pressure rolled onto
>paper, this produced a blue image and was limited to approx 50 copies
>before the emulsion became too weak to produce half-decent copies. Our
>students used these on a daily basis before photocopying became economic.

I suspect the Banda duplicator was cheaper to run but the degradation of
later copies was worse. Unless, as often happened, the original for the
photocopier was not kept, and subsequent copies were made from one of the
copies. Multiply that several times and it becomes unreadable, especially
if the photocopy paper was at all damp - as it usually was in our village
school. I loved the laser printer in my office, and produced A5 'letters
home', and A4 posters on that.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

Penny wrote:

>I suspect the Banda duplicator was cheaper to run but the degradation of
>later copies was worse. Unless, as often happened, the original for the
>photocopier was not kept, and subsequent copies were made from one of the
>copies. Multiply that several times and it becomes unreadable, especially
>if the photocopy paper was at all damp - as it usually was in our village
>school. I loved the laser printer in my office, and produced A5 'letters
>home', and A4 posters on that.

I remember when I first started work there were a variety of
copying machines about, one of which produced printout in sepia
and somewhat damp.

The arrival of the first photocopier was a revelation. We had to
adapt to its quirks - solid blocks came out as outlines (1), and
the first time we tried to copy something sent to us using
carbonless copy paper, it came out as a blank form, since it
didn't see pale blue.

Rather later, since I took care of producing the office stock of
blank forms, I wrote "Master" on them in blue highlighter, so
that it stood a chance of surviving. When we had a change of
copier, the new one saw the writing, and I had to change to
yellow highlighter instead.

Tickets also try to avoid illicit copying, using colours which
are hard to reproduce, and gradient fills that come out banded.

I happened to have a ticket with security measures on it. Out of
curiosity I copied it on my all-in-one scanner, and the word
"void" became clearly visible, as its dot size reproduced,
whereas the background, which seemed much the same shade to the
naked eye, was composed of smaller dots, and did not copy.

(1) AIUI, this was the reason that using filled and open symbols
to have different meanings on circuit diagrams was abandoned.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.