Post #1992724

2026-03-29 20:14 UTC

@tfb I didn't know that! I've done that too! I worked in print shops long after they stopped processes like physical type but got to try my hand at a few. I did offset printing though. But it does develop my question: is the book a technology, or is it the result of technologies? The same might be asked of a website.

Replies (2)

@tfb@functional.cafe 2026-03-30 08:38

@ephemeral For books, I'd say they're both. They're obviously a product of the fairly sophisticated technologies of printing and binding. But they are also a technology for preserving and transmitting knowledge and ideas.

Open ##1992725
@tfb@functional.cafe 2026-03-30 08:46

@ephemeral I was trained as a printer and binder in the early 1990's just as the classical matting and typesetting techniques were on their last legs. Getting TeX and PostScript installed on my PC was my main motivator for running Linux, because that was so obviously the future. When I went off to university, the job market absolutely dried up, and I switched to working in shipyards for extra income (plus I got myself blacklisted because of labour agitation). I enjoyed being one of only two people I was aware of at the university with custom calling cards and personalised notebooks 😹

Open ##1992726