Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-08-24
ENGRAvERS DO BIG BUSINESS
Industry in Omaha Holds Envinble
Place Among Those of COun-
try'H biggest Cities.

An important phase of Omaha's CONNER
cial development is the progress which the
local engraving concerns are making. So
rapid has this development been that where
ten years ago it was necessary to send to
the larger cities of the country for many
things in the engraving line such as first
class half tones, zinc etchings and color
plates. these today are easily procurable
in Omaha.
And it is not alone the mechanical side
OF the business which has advanced. 1t
naturally falls to the lot of the engraver
to do a great deal of the art work from
which the cuts are made and in this side
of the work Omaha has also advanced rap
idly. Today photo retouching wash and
line drawings and designs of all sorts from
the brushes and pens of Omaha artists are
among the best in the country.
There are two engraving companies in
the Omaha field, the Baker Bros. Engrav-
ing company and w. R. Bramblett & Co.
The Baker firm, which is the oldest here.
occupies the top floor of the Barker block
The Bramblett company is but five years
old in Omaha, having been moved here at
that time from st. Paul and Minneapolis,
where the firm had been located for nine
teen years 1t is located at 1911 Howard
street.
These two firms stand ready to design
and manufacture most any sort of cut
that will make an impression upon paper.
A large part of the work of the local COM
panies, however, is the reproduction of
drawings and photographs Of machinery
and the artists connected with the Omaha
engraving houses oft times fashion the copy
for q cut of an intricate piece of machinery
with very meager information to work on
Much Of the local work lies, also, in the
production of cover pages, labels, menu
cards and the like, for which line of work
Omaha has an enviable reputation through
out the middle west.
The field over which the local firms work
is not a particularly large one, for there
are older houses in nearby cities which
compete with them for the work of the
section. Most of the work Of Nebraska and
western Iowa goes to the local concerns
however and each year they are extending
their territory bit Each of the firms has
its own process for making the cuts, which
differ considerably at some points The
Bramblett people feature their "acid blast"
process of engraving.
The amount of business done by the local
concerns will reach we'll toward the $780, 900
mark for year. the local houses reporting
an increase Of from 20 to 80 per cent in
this years business to date.
And yet the engraving men Of Omaha feel
that they are given just a little less than
square deal by Omaha citizens They
bewail the fact that the average citizen is
these days demanding high rate of speed
and at the same time is apt to be quite
offended If quality is not forthcoming along
with it. In many cases they allow but a
bare margin over the shortest space of
time in which the engraving could be com
pleted and when 1t is understood that each
cut must go through the hands of thirteen
or more different classes of workmen 1t
will be realized that this is often too small
a margin to allow the engraver to give
the best possible class of work.