I've been building ads of some kind since 1983. And I love it. When I started in the newspaper business years ago, I typeset everything on this monstrous machine that only showed you about three or four words before it 'returned' and you couldn't see them anymore. After you were done typing everything, you had to take the 'film' into the dark room and process it. It came out on something called a galley, which was essentially a piece of white film that had the type on them. You then had to read it all and if you made a mistake you had to re-typset the line that had the error and PASTE IT ON. Yes, ancient times........
From there I learned to typeset using a Mac computer. On one of the smallest screens ever made, about six inches across. It was a good thing I was much younger, as my eyesight was way better then. I remember learning to use the mouse to do things. It was quite exciting, although scary at the same time. But, this step up meant we no longer had to process film, everything came out of the printer. And we could actually do fancy things back then. Like add a border, ha ha ha. You see, before computers we had to border the pictures with border tape. It was really quite the process to lay out pages before computers.
My - how things have changed. Like everything else, time (and computers) have about eliminated an entire generation that knew how to 'paste up pages'. Using a waxer and an exacto knife. I've still got my very first knife, although it's about worn out. It's not used much anymore. And the good old wax machine. Goodness knows how many items of clothing I ruined over the years getting wax on them.
Ad building back then was very basic. It took alot of time to put type across a picture back then. You literally had to cut the type out of film and position it across the picture. Now you just click your mouse, create a text box, add color and outlines, and place it over the picture. Which I have placed on a page - in one file that holds the entire publication - which will be sent to Dayton, Ohio to print over the internet.
I can recall many times driving from Orofino, Idaho up the Lewiston Hill to Moscow to have the Clearwater Tribune printed. It didn't matter if it was snowing, raining, sleeting .... Miss Cloann was in the van and delivering those pages up the mountain. I enjoyed going with her when time allowed. If I didn't make the trip with her, I was waiting for her return so we could bundle them all for the post office. Sometimes into the wee hours of a Wednesday night, so they could go out early the next morning. Jenni was little then and she would sit in the middle of the table and hold her fingers on the twine so we could tie the knots. She would be in her little footed pj's ... just having the time of her life.
She learned the life of a newspaper person early on. She knew full well what 'deadline' meant for me. I might be home in one hour - or four hours. On days leading up to deadline, if I had a real load of work, she might not see me much for a couple of days. Not the best way to raise a kidlet, but hey, someone had to do it! And I had a fabulous sitter back then too.....
I guess that's one thing that hasn't changed in this industry. A deadline. On deadline week, the Dave person might not see much of me for a couple of days. I'm real good at working overnight during the last two or three days before sending the magazine off. He doesn't handle the whole deadline thing as well as I do. But, hey, he was the pressman when we met - and he always knew I never missed one, so he should be used to my methods.......
Have a great day everyone. Keep those on the East Coast in your prayers, and pray that Irene weakens as it heads north. We don't need another catastrophe to hit our country!
I'm off to build some ads .... for all of our wonderful advertisers that continue to allow us to publish All Things Country each and every month. Love it!
Pam
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