Model Railroading > Model Railroader video

I just watched the Maodel Railroader video about how it is printed. I am a retired printer, so I knew what was going on just from the visuals. It seems to me that the verbal explanations are inadequate for someone who isn't already familiar with the processes. I'd like to hear from some non-printers who have seen the video how it sounded to them.
Bill Pyper
Salem, OR
 

It was interesting to me, as I like any "behind the scenes" manufacturing video (or factory tour).
Would have liked more details but I guess the average viewer would lose interest.
(FWIW, The Ford truck plant tour in Dearborn MI was the best I've been on).
Bill in Ft Worth

I was impressed with the size of the plant and the size of the company - I think I heard 25,000 employees in 27 locations.  Over all it was quite interesting.

I wondered the same thing, as an old newspaper guy, but then I realized that going into a lot of detail would have probably put some folks to sleep. By the way, that's a very big leap from my old Linotype at the Mojave Desert News!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Would have liked to see more about composition and platemaking. Speaking as one who has spent a lot of time around publishing.

grahamline Wrote:
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> Would have liked to see more about composition and
> platemaking. Speaking as one who has spent a lot
> of time around publishing.

Agree

I'm also a retired printer, having started in 1968 at the Green River (WY) Star using 2 Linotypes, handset type for headlines and a Meihle flatbed press to print the paper one sheet at a time. I left here and ran a school district shop for 23 years, then returned ot the Star for 10 more years. We had advanced consideraby, running a nine-unit Goss Community press and using Macs for compostion.
That said, I agree the MR video left out a lot for people familiar with the ndustry, sort of like the RR shows on TV. Unlike those shows however, it didn't offer up any outright falsehoods. Enough info to be interesting, but not so much as to get bogged down in minutiae. I would liked to have seen how 'we got from here to there' a bit more but overall it was pretty good.
Interesting to note how many printers hang out here. In '68 I was warned by an old timer, 'Don't get any of that printers' ink in your blood,' advice I happily failed to heed.

Well, I wasn't a printer, though my uncle was a linotypist. My job was filling the gaps between the ads, but on community-sized papers, everyone knows evrybody else. It was disappointing when I moved to a larger paper with a separate press building. Still worked a lot with the composing room, but didn't get to feel the presses come alive. 

I am a printer, small shop, letterpress, digital and offset, etc.

I believe the composition is all done at Kalmbach. They probably email a file that is the complete magazine and the machinery at Quad is "computer to plate".  I would like to have
seen how/where the addressing takes place and how this step affects the bundling to zip centers.  But I guess these two ends of the production are not strictly "printing" the
magazine. But this all is light years away from what I do!

Frank30 (Boston).