{"id":736,"date":"2017-06-14T09:46:26","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T08:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/?page_id=736"},"modified":"2023-01-25T11:06:02","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T10:06:02","slug":"more-lines-to-the-column","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/","title":{"rendered":"More Lines to the Column"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nice story from George Finn, explaining how a bit of composing-room ingenuity solved a problem for the Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\n

BACK in the early 1970’s the Sydney Morning Herald’s presses could only produce 120 broadsheet pages on a collect run.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Herald’s classified pages were bursting at the seams and eating into the news pages.<\/p>\n

Online inserters were still being perfected. Additional press units were ordered, but in the mean time, classified advertisements were being left on the stone.<\/p>\n

Revenue was being lost and a lot of classified customers were very unhappy to say the least.<\/p>\n

The typeface we were using was Linotype’s 4\u00bept Adsans.<\/p>\n

I noticed that Adsans had very short descenders, so with the GMs approval, I had 4\u00bdpt liners inserted into a couple of Elektrons and had a classified page reset using TTS tape from the previous day’s publication.<\/p>\n

Four stereo plates were cast of the page and run on a press to produce a number of four page dummy papers.<\/p>\n

These papers were circulated among the Fairfax board, and executives responsible for classified sales and production.<\/p>\n

There was general agreement that there was no perceived difference in the readability of Adsans set on the 4\u00bept body and the 4\u00bdpt body.<\/p>\n

It was decided to go ahead and change the body size for classified advertisements to 4\u00bdpt.<\/p>\n

The SMH’s column depth was 22\u201d which accommodated 330 4\u00bept lines, however by decreasing the body size to 4\u00bdpt and we get an extra 17 lines per column or an extra 187 lines over an eleven column page.<\/p>\n

That was just over half a column per page.<\/p>\n

It is my understanding that we never received a complaint that the classified advertisements were harder to read.<\/p>\n

The new press units arrived and were installed, increasing the press capacity to 144 pages.<\/p>\n

I don’t know if we ever went back to the 4\u00bept body size. The union had been told it was a temporary solution.<\/p>\n

If you liked this story you may also like Printers’ Tales<\/strong><\/a> a compilation of similar stories, available in ebook and paperback formats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nice story from George Finn, explaining how a bit of composing-room ingenuity solved a problem for the Sydney Morning Herald. BACK in the early 1970’s the Sydney Morning Herald’s presses could only produce 120 broadsheet pages on a collect run. The Herald’s classified pages were bursting at the seams and eating into the news pages. … Continue reading “More Lines to the Column”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-736","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-australianz","category-storiesanecdotes"],"yoast_head":"\nMore Lines to the Column - Metal Type<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"George Finn explains how the Sydney Morning Herald used some ingenuity to cram more classified advertising into the paper in the 1970s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More Lines to the Column - Metal Type\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"George Finn explains how the Sydney Morning Herald used some ingenuity to cram more classified advertising into the paper in the 1970s\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metal Type\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-25T10:06:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MTPrinting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/more-lines-to-the-column\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/more-lines-to-the-column\\\/\",\"name\":\"More Lines to the Column - Metal Type\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-14T08:46:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-25T10:06:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"George Finn explains how the Sydney Morning Herald used some ingenuity to cram more classified advertising into the paper in the 1970s\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/more-lines-to-the-column\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/more-lines-to-the-column\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/more-lines-to-the-column\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"More Lines to the Column\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metal Type\",\"description\":\"Yesterday\u2019s Technology . . . Today!\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2940bf4b69879abf80bffc807423c9c\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2940bf4b69879abf80bffc807423c9c\",\"name\":\"Dave Hughes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0782f4b557dca1d0780ba5d81bf1f2fbd00f957d5c97e2603a3ea0dd578da9a2?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0782f4b557dca1d0780ba5d81bf1f2fbd00f957d5c97e2603a3ea0dd578da9a2?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0782f4b557dca1d0780ba5d81bf1f2fbd00f957d5c97e2603a3ea0dd578da9a2?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Dave Hughes\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0782f4b557dca1d0780ba5d81bf1f2fbd00f957d5c97e2603a3ea0dd578da9a2?s=96&d=mm&r=r\"},\"description\":\"Ex-letterpress printer and founder of the Metal Type website.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/MTPrinting\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More Lines to the Column - Metal Type","description":"George Finn explains how the Sydney Morning Herald used some ingenuity to cram more classified advertising into the paper in the 1970s","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"More Lines to the Column - Metal Type","og_description":"George Finn explains how the Sydney Morning Herald used some ingenuity to cram more classified advertising into the paper in the 1970s","og_url":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/","og_site_name":"Metal Type","article_modified_time":"2023-01-25T10:06:02+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@MTPrinting","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/","url":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/","name":"More Lines to the Column - Metal Type","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-06-14T08:46:26+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-25T10:06:02+00:00","description":"George Finn explains how the Sydney Morning Herald used some ingenuity to cram more classified advertising into the paper in the 1970s","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/more-lines-to-the-column\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More Lines to the Column"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/","name":"Metal Type","description":"Yesterday\u2019s Technology . . . Today!","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/#\/schema\/person\/a2940bf4b69879abf80bffc807423c9c"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/#\/schema\/person\/a2940bf4b69879abf80bffc807423c9c","name":"Dave Hughes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0782f4b557dca1d0780ba5d81bf1f2fbd00f957d5c97e2603a3ea0dd578da9a2?s=96&d=mm&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0782f4b557dca1d0780ba5d81bf1f2fbd00f957d5c97e2603a3ea0dd578da9a2?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0782f4b557dca1d0780ba5d81bf1f2fbd00f957d5c97e2603a3ea0dd578da9a2?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Dave Hughes"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0782f4b557dca1d0780ba5d81bf1f2fbd00f957d5c97e2603a3ea0dd578da9a2?s=96&d=mm&r=r"},"description":"Ex-letterpress printer and founder of the Metal Type website.","sameAs":["http:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress","https:\/\/x.com\/MTPrinting"]}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/736\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}