Some of my first memories are from sitting on my Grandfather’s lap while he ran a line-o-type for the Everett WA local union newspaper. Cigar smoke, the nonstop clicking of the machine, and the smell of the lead pot cooking made a real impression on a six-year old. THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!
I am 75 years old. Interest in printing began my freshman year in high school.our schools had a 2 year vocational program for the junior and senior year. I took vocational printing. I went to work in a small town print shop the second semester of my senior year. I could operate all equipment in the shop except the linotype machine. Lived through the changeover in printing from handset type to computers. Quite a change. Enjoyed this video very much. Thank you for sharing.
This was a great video. I worked in a print shop in 71 and 72 in high school. They had a linotype that was still being used. My job was to melt down the old type and make lead slugs. The deputy sheriff's used to buy them to reload their rounds with. The last logotype operator retired while I was there. Brought back some great old memories.
I grew up in a print shop and we had 2 Linotypes. I learned how to print with lead type on 2 old Heidleburg windmills, Meihle verticle V45 and V50's and an old Craftsman platum hand feed... Before school I use to take the old lead type and melt it down then pour it in to "Pigs", 2 1/5' lead bars that were hung by a chain that slowly lowered it into the linotype to make new type...
My grandpa was a small town newspaperman with a weekly paper, and other printing services. He had 2 Linotypes as well. Amazing machines to watch in action. His newspaper press was as big as a pickup truck and shook the whole building when he was running it. He had several different hand-fed presses. I can still see him chomping on a Roi Tan cigar, typing furiously away, then he'd suddenly jump up, run around to the back of the machine, hop onto the platform, and fix something, and then back to the keyboard!
Ludlows and Linotypes, I hadn't expected to find your channel talking about these press type machines. Back in 1979 I was hired by Mr. Ellis to assist in his shop, Ellis Rubber Stamp Factory located on University Avenue in Berkeley California. I was fresh out of the USAF and the owner found me pumping gas at a Chevron Station in Berkeley when I was offered employment at his shop. The man that ran the Linotype best I can recall was of Filipino heritage. I worked loading a device that held type for the rubber stamps that went through a vulcanizer loaded with rubber sheets and the lead type that was created in the Ludlow woas placed in the frame much like I saw on the tables you had in this video. After the rubber sheet was pressed into the type face at the vulacnizer and then removed a test sheet of print paper was pressed onto the rubber sheet so the finished product could be 'proofed' before the stamp would be cut out of the sheet and then glued onto the wooden stock of the appropriate size for the stamp. The whole operation was manual, with the one exception of the Linotype press that as seen here was mechanized. This was an amazing operation where a few of us would work each day creating a tool that has long since been replaced. When did anyone see a rubber stamp in an office with its stamp ink pad sitting beside it? Thanks for the return to a simpler time. Just as I was moving on to my new venture in health care Mr. Ellis had purchased a new computer ran press and a young fellow that had the training to operate it was hired.
That was truly a great video. The guy that invented that machine was a genius. So cool to watch it work. Kudos to the gentleman who did the repairs. Glad to hear that these machines are still in use and that keeps him employed. That machine will be working in the future when all else fails.
Kent, The Lynotype is amazing; so is the man who created it. I was impressed that the machine is 100 years old and yet, with a tune-up, it was returned to working order. Thanks for sharing this so very interesting video!
We were living in the Cincinnati area when we were married in 76. I was a tool maker for Hamilton Tool Company. We built printing presses of all sizes. My wife was employed as a type setter for a local newspaper. We thought we were in the money and set for life. Boy how things change fast. Thanks for the blast from the past.
looks like you got yourself a family museum to run now too. Loved the bit where he said the boy researched about the machine but could only find video with him in it !!!
You really brought back some memories. In the 60's we had a school field trip to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune where they showed us how the paper was printed using a linotype. What I remembered from that field trip was how the machine used molten led to make the dye and the type setter virtually assembled the page line by line all by hand. Cleaning out the cob webs I also remember the printers being so dirty I assume mostly from the led typeface. Thanks Kent, not wanting to be intrusive but can I ask what is your field of work
Brings back memories for me. I worked for my Father-in-law and we converted the older Miele printing presses into corrugated die cutters. Basically converting printing presses into box cutter machines. Thats how and where I started my machinist, machine builder, engineering career.
When scrap prices went sky high the old machines brought more money as scrap than anyone would pay for them. We lost a lot of great machines and history then.
the repair and mainteance of this stuff like with old cars and trucks needs to be preserved and passed down for future generations. great stuff Kent! i had an ex who's father ran older stuff like an old KLUGE ( kloo-gie) press so i learned a bit about typefaces and such keep them coming :)
My stepfather ran one of those things for 19 years, for the Orlando Sentinel. I can't even imagine sitting there, 8 hours a da day with that thing clicking, and clanking, and smelling like hot lead.
Thank you for sharing! My dad was a newspaper man that began his career in 1945 and continued till he passed away 2013. He began on one of those! I’m going to share this video with my children/grand and great grand children so they will know what Pa-Paw did! Thanks!
I belong to a pioneer show where we have one building that is entirely an old print shop in running condition. Visitors really enjoy seeing the equipment run.
Wow! Your video brought back so many wonderful memories of my first real job. I was hired by our local newspaper in the summer after my senior year of HS. My job was as an apprentice Linotype mechanic. For some unknown reason working on these machines came easy to me. We had 7 machines we had to keep running. I think 5 of them were fed perforated paper about an inch wide and those were put on a reel or spool. The perf paper would be decoded by the Linotype and automatically print out the story or article. I suppose I would have stayed with the newspaper business but Uncle Sam's canoe club had a different idea for me. By the time my enlistment was done the paper had gone to cold type and the Linotype machines were sold off to small town newspapers. 1971 was quite the year...graduated HS, got a job, joined the Navy and shipped out to Vietnam.
That was very interesting to see how they printed the paper back then. Plus I recognized some of the names in the adds. Bought my first new car from Ferguson Ford. They were located where the Woodward News is now.
Wow. I heard of those, but never saw one working. I turned 16 in '74. When I worked at the newspaper, they had been using a computer setup for a few years.
Dave is an absolute legend and a national treasure. I've had the pleasure of chatting with him at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill Massachusetts, where he's been working on (our) Linotypes. He's been filming a series of videos on tips & tricks and maintenance for the museum, they're available on the museum's youtube channel. Linotypes are very demanding on maintenance. But they are SO Fascinating
I loved this video. One of my first jobs in high school, about 1970, was in a print shop that had two working lynotypes still being used. One of my jobs was to melt down old type into the "pigs" that fed the lynotype. One of the operators used to spit tobacco into the type buckets. That was so gross. Ah, the good old days.
Nice video. The adverts are what we called Blocks, old days they were "pinned" with nails and later double sided adhesive. I think the Gentleman Lino Repair Man can be seen on the Museum of Print, Haverhill, MA.
I had the pleasure of working in a hot metal type house out of high school in the early 80’s. They 8 linotypes and 2 ludlows and tons of hand set type in job cases. I’m still am in the printing industry at 58 years of age. Boy has it changed. I worked at Brunographics in Baltimore.
That was amazing! I used to watch a kids show in the 80’s called “😂Read all about it “ It was about It was about a mystery that happened in their town and they printed the paper
Thanks really cool! I learned how to print with typein Jr. High. We had to learn where all the letters went in the job case and i hated learning that job case until i finally memorized it then it was fun! I feel lucky to have learned about it and im glad you put this video out, very interesting!
Nice story and video Great history, loved it The vault is amazing. If you can, find out if in the newspaper business, they ever shortened a story to fit the print chase or “Cut to the chase”…a phrase thought to have come from silent movies, but I doubt it.
Kent, a little info for you on this machine. It was invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler (1854-1899) in Baltimore, Md. in 1885. There's a school named for him for kids that want to learn a trade. A great man. I grew up about 1/2 mile from the school. Go figure. The operators should've worn ear protection a very loud machine.
My grandparents got a red Pacer 3 on the tree felt so bag riding in it 'cause everybody looked at 'cause there was no other car like that and town you're like sitting in a fish bowl they got a standard because they used to tow it behind their big old Winnebago Motor home to the states
This is something you will find amazing to know. First, you did a very good job putting that story together. Well thought out, good camera angles and the digging through the newspaper archives to find that page really made what you did compelling. You did well to touch on the inventor. The machine (a masterful contraption) changed the world in that the last such printing milestone was the Gutenberg Press. With the Linotype, newspapers, books, magazines became a reality. Ottmar Mergenthaler became wealthy beyond belief. He had an only son..... now you will be amazed to hear this story: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i7Oi7qjPg3A.html
Man, imagine having all this machinery at home just to print out a pdf... This is mechanic porn. I shure hope this shop stays together, hurts my heart. Always when something goes to scrap that fed families, it does.
