Glenn Fleishman
Progress report on our printing in Maine at https://glog.glennf.com/blog/2023/7/11/proof-in-the-pressing – talking about how print proofing works in preparation for going on press.
The Proof Is in the Printing

I’m currently in Lewiston, Maine, with Marcin Wichary, the author and designer of Shift Happens . I’ve been his editor and project manager. Having worked with Marcin for years on the text, we shifted into crowdfunding (raising over $750,000) and now into production. After we talked to many printe

Glenn Fleishman writes words about things
Jul 11, 2023 at 7:12pmWeb
Show threadDavid BelsonJul 12, 2023
@glennf This is so cool, and I have to say that I'm a little bit jealous that you have the opportunity to be onsite for this.
Show threadGlenn FleishmanJul 12, 2023
@dbelson I feel fortunate/exhausted. We start at 7 am—so far haven't gone past about 8:30, but could be here till midnight if conditions warranted. They run two shifts a day so we have to be here for both! Everyone is terrific. Well-run operation and they are working incredibly hard on this job.
Show threadDavid BelsonJul 12, 2023
@glennf @glennf I had no idea that there was a printing plant like that in Maine. Glad to hear it's a great operation. Hopefully you & Marcin will still have a few minutes to grab a beer at Bunker Brewing - you deserve it!
Show threadEllipsis has movedJul 12, 2023
@glennf Good grief! Is that a Linotronic imagesetter and RIP? I worked with those back in the 90's.
Show threadGlenn FleishmanJul 12, 2023
@tobiaspatton Yes! I had an office with one of those for about two years when I was working in a university imaging center! I honestly miss it.
Show threadSo‑Called VaughnJul 12, 2023

@glennf @tobiaspatton I worked with a modest L100*. The damnedest part of setting it up (even in 1989) was finding a LocalTalk dongle for its DB-9 (that and miniDIN 4 to RJ45 cable, the network used PhoneNet).

*so unloved I can’t find a photo online 😮

Exciting times in DTP though. Just a few years prior I was crapping my pant at the opportunity to use a LaserWriter Plus.

Show threadEllipsis has movedJul 12, 2023
@vaughnsc @glennf I went on from my job in prepress (imaging film and paper on Linotronics) to working support and later software development at Creo, a company that made platesetters. My 25 year old heart thrilled at the idea of imaging a 32”x48" plate at 3600dpi! Luckily, the RIPs were connected by 100BT, no LocalTalk involved :) Still had to deal with SyQuest drives though…
Show threadGlenn FleishmanJul 12, 2023
@tobiaspatton @vaughnsc Very cool! This is my first time on a "modern" press check—I did some decades ago and and a hardcover printed in 2013, but did remote proofing. The press we're working with, they can do so many adjustments, including increasing/decreasing colors in one-inch bands across the press, feathering it on either side. It’s a really interactive process.
Show threadSo‑Called VaughnJul 12, 2023

@tobiaspatton @glennf Yep, I stayed in the grunt work of prepress, used a smattering of Creo, Scitex and Optronics*. I wasn’t a developer at the time. That shop’s IT was *always* behind the curve (they chose 10Base2 coax and more AAUI dongles c. 1995)

*My contribution was writing a proper PPD so we could print directly to this behemoth instead of its default ‘save as postscript file *for each plate*’ workflow.

Show threadWill StevensJul 12, 2023
@glennf great article, excited to get my copy!
Show threadRyan Poirier (@rgpphotog)Jul 13, 2023

@glennf my hometown! Cool! Im Currently in Bar Harbor, but also back in Lewiston for the week, on vacation to visit family. Hope you enjoy your stay.

I once worked in the warehouse nextdoor to Penmor when the warehouse was used by VIP Auto.

Show threadGlenn FleishmanJul 13, 2023
@RGPphotog Incredible! Lewiston is very pretty. I hope it continues a recovery yay appears underway!
Show threadRyan Poirier (@rgpphotog)Jul 13, 2023
@glennf My hope is that the remote work movement helps make that possible. That’s why I left, (or stayed afar, more accurately) to find work in my industry of video production.
Show threadGlenn FleishmanJul 13, 2023
@RGPphotog The “good” news is that housing prices went through the roof in Lewiston and have stayed high, meaning people find it desirable. The bad news…well, nobody around here can afford the rent or house. One of the folks here said a normal apartment here went from $700/month to $1,400/month in the last few years. Inflation’s high, but not that high!