The Seybold Report

GPO Adds Machine Typesetting to History Exhibit

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has updated its history exhibit with a display exploring machine typesetting’s impact on the printing industry from 1900 through 1980. The exhibit, Keeping America Informed: the U.S. Government Printing Office 150 Years of Service to the Nation, opened June 2011 on the GPO’s 150th anniversary. The new display includes objects, photos, and videos of linotype and monotype machines and how they expanded government printing. more

Linotype: The Film Now Available on DVD and Blu-Ray

This film really has it all: genius, passion, and hot metal! Linotype: The Film, a 76-minute feature film with 70 additional minutes of special features including extended interviews, deleted scenes, and outtakes, comes under a limited-edition, foil-stamped cover with a 32-page booklet and two articles about Linotype the company and its history and the making of the film. more

Printing Pioneer John Crosfield Dies

Printing pioneer John F. Crosfield, C.B.E.. D. Sc., M.A., who was one of the entrepreneurs in the printing industry after WW II died March 25 at the age of 96. Crosfield founded Crosfield Electronics Ltd in 1947, initially designing and manufacturing the Autotron, a printing press automatic control system to ensure the four printing colors registered accurately. The company played a leading role in the introduction of color scanning, phototypesetting, and automated composition of pages incorporating pictures and text and developed the Scanatron, the first color scanner, in 1959. The company went on to introduce more innovative technologies through the 1960s. 

Museum of Printing Acquires Charles Francis Library

The Museum of Printing in North Andover, MA has acquired the Charles Francis collection of printing history and printing related books. The Charles Francis Press was located in the Printing Crafts Building, which was the first building designed for multiple printing industry tenants (now 5 Penn Plaza) in New York City. The company was one of the largest American printers from the 1880s to the 1930s. The museum plans to exhibit the collection in 2012. more