FAQ / Life on Pern / Craft Information / Printer Craft (at the Harper Hall)
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Last updated 30th July 2007 by Eimi
Printer Craft History
The Printer Craft began after the discovery of AIVAS at Landing in the middle of the Ninth Pass. The need for printed instructions to support the Plan, plus the wealth of information on all Crafts received from AIVAS, caused many Harpers to try their hands at the Printing Craft.
Printing began using the peripherals supplied by AIVAS plus machines constructed from spare parts found in the Catherine Caves. These resources were limited, and Pernese technology was not able to reproduce them. The printers then turned to simpler methods of printing using handset type composition and simple letterpress presses (printing one page at a time directly from the type) as Printer Halls began to be established throughout Pern.
As demand for printed material increased over the years, many attempts were made to increase the speed and efficiency of presses and composition. The first break came about Turn 400 of the Ninth Interval when Master Compositor Picason developed a working model of a typesetting machine that a good operator could use to set as much body type in a candlemark as any five or six handset compositors working at top speed.
Just a few years later, Master Pressman Tangolst finished the construction of a flatbed-cylinder press that would print eight pages at a time in two colors on one side of a sheet of paper at a speed of over 2,000 impressions per candlemark. About the same time, Hallmaster Perfektin demonstrated his press which would print in one color on both sides of a sheet in one pass through the press.
These machines, plus the bindery equipment needed to support their production capacity, are the workhorses of every Printer Hall on Pern. Who knows what the future will bring?
Note: After a hurricane destroyed Topaz Sea Hold, the Hall became a subsidiary of the Harper Hall at Emerald Falls Hold. When the Harper Hall was destroyed by an arson's fire, the Printers moved along with the Harper Hall to Dolphin Cove Weyr where they are presently located.
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Printing began using the peripherals supplied by AIVAS plus machines constructed from spare parts found in the Catherine Caves. These resources were limited, and Pernese technology was not able to reproduce them. The printers then turned to simpler methods of printing using handset type composition and simple letterpress presses (printing one page at a time directly from the type) as Printer Halls began to be established throughout Pern.
As demand for printed material increased over the years, many attempts were made to increase the speed and efficiency of presses and composition. The first break came about Turn 400 of the Ninth Interval when Master Compositor Picason developed a working model of a typesetting machine that a good operator could use to set as much body type in a candlemark as any five or six handset compositors working at top speed.
Just a few years later, Master Pressman Tangolst finished the construction of a flatbed-cylinder press that would print eight pages at a time in two colors on one side of a sheet of paper at a speed of over 2,000 impressions per candlemark. About the same time, Hallmaster Perfektin demonstrated his press which would print in one color on both sides of a sheet in one pass through the press.
These machines, plus the bindery equipment needed to support their production capacity, are the workhorses of every Printer Hall on Pern. Who knows what the future will bring?
Note: After a hurricane destroyed Topaz Sea Hold, the Hall became a subsidiary of the Harper Hall at Emerald Falls Hold. When the Harper Hall was destroyed by an arson's fire, the Printers moved along with the Harper Hall to Dolphin Cove Weyr where they are presently located.
See Also: No articles yet
Referenced By: No articles yet