Evening star., 1947-12-04
Apprentice Printers
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
With others, I have read, with imagined
profit, David Lawrence's column. While not
always agreeing with his conclusions, I had
trusted his articles were based upon searched
out truths. But after reading his statement
in The Star OF November 49, SO 1t takes
only about six months to teach an intelligent
(printer) worker enough to become Journey
man. I must bespeak space for refutation.
One should qualify to speak. The writer
has been engaged at or associated with print
ing nearly so years. He has been devil" in a
small-town newspaper and job Office and fore
man OF a metropolitan plant; has had training
in the Mergenthaler factory and was graduated
from the Inland Printer Technical School; has
worked in the Government Printing ONCE and
in large and small shops from Northern New
York to Southern Alabama. Yet he Is still
learning the printing business and will have
to continue doing So
The writer was for years working member
Of and for more years chairman OF Columbia
Typographical Unions Apprentice Committee
Thus, he had part In establishing current
cooperative setup for selecting, guiding and
graduating printer apprentices in Washington
Skill is acquired by sustained repeated
effort. The printing trade is the worlds most
intricate and involved craft, comprising
multitude Of things, machines and processes.
printer must master everything from the
optical illusion involved in "centering" single
line on a card to the philosophy of colors.
Few printers are able, in a lifetime, to master
all the several branches, and so become spe-
cialists, this after all-around basic training.
The International Typographical Union
maintains in Indianapolis a matchless edu-
cation bureau where individual watch is kept
A
tices The ITU lessons in printing are the
basis of vocational teaching in many cities in
every State, and have been procured by New
Zealand and Australia and other countries.
The 1TU arranged the textbook for the
United States Navy. now used around the
world. Wherever possible, the ITU works
with vocational experts.
Locally, almost ideal cooperative procedure
IS followed by the union and employers,
wherein educational and aptitude tests ap-
piled to each printer -aspirant. After fulfilling
basic requirements, the apprentice is given
tryout year. From the second and including
the fifth year apprentices are trained in all
processes and practices possible with shops
equipment. When he masters one branch he
goes on to another. After five years, If de-
clared competent by employer and employee
group, the apprentice is given opportunity to
qualify on one or both generally used type
setting machines-though few ever have time
or talent to become skilled on more than one.
No one could do the lessons in printing in
six months; nor could other than a prodigy
attain speed and skill with either the linotype
or monotype in half year, and to acquire a
mental picture Of the many type faces and
sizes and series and their relationship to white
space and each other is lifetime continuing
task, to say nothing of just one other Of the
printing trades complexities-the many types
of presses, folding machines and equipment for
which each Of host. Of layouts must be
arranged
The Typographical Union sees to it that
member must qualify readily to function in
any printing plant, and so return to the
employer full value for reward received.
NORMAN SANDRIDGE