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When Komori and Heidelberg drop out of a Graph Expo show, it portends seismic changes in the printing industry. But it is all part of 500+ years of changes. All things have a lifespan, whether they are living things, inanimate things, or even the universe (the ultimate collection of things). They start out as nothing, become something, and ultimately become nothing again. This pseudo-philosophical statement begins a discussion about technological change, a subject dear to all of our hearts.
Friday, February 19, 2010
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Stay informed. Stay competitive. Stay ahead.Frank Romano has spent over 60 years in the printing and publishing industries. Many know him best as the editor of the International Paper Pocket Pal or from the hundreds of articles he has written for publications from North America and Europe to the Middle East to Asia and Australia. Romano lectures extensively, having addressed virtually every club, association, group, and professional organization at one time or another. He is one of the industry's foremost keynote speakers. He continues to teach courses at RIT and other universities and works with students on unique research projects.
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Frank describes his informal survey to discover the most-used typefaces. Over a decade, he has asked users what font they use most often. See the results. Read More
Frank reacts to a Jeopardy game show segment that involves Johann Gutenberg. There is much misinformation about the invention of printing and Frank is on a mission to present the facts, even if it means yelling at a TV screen. Read More
Frank traces the evolution of the printed Bible as reported in Neal Lightfoot’s book “How We Got the Bible.” The English Bible evolved from Hebrew, Greek, and Latin versions. Martin Luther’s German translation influenced other translations. Read More
Frank notes that there are now shortages of newsprint for those newspapers that produce a paper edition. Paper production is down because we now lose more trees to fires. And paper mills are replacing newsprint with packaging papers. “Save the trees” now has a different meaning from when it meant printed page reduction. Read More
Frank talks typefaces by showing the 1923 ATF and the 1940 Linotype specimen books. From less than 200 type families to over a million today, there are more type families available than at any time in history. Fortunately, Times Roman and Helvetica (Arial) dominate. Read More
