Drinks and Dice
6 HN recommenders · recommended in 7 months, 2017–2026
28:46 · 260K views · Jul 14, 2016
A documentary on the last day the New York Times was printed with linotype machines in 1978, following the process from the newsroom to the press. It marks the move to computerized typesetting.
Frequently recommended as an absorbing look at hot-metal typesetting and the end of the linotype era.
7 comments from Hacker News
If you want to see the entire workflow as implemented by the New York Times there is a great documentary about it. this video The documentary covers the last day that the NYT used a metal/linotype press and talks through the entire process that happened from newsroom to printing. It is a truly interesting way to spend 28 minutes.
>It has the last master plate, and some photos of how it all looked on the last day. There is a photo of a technician sweeping up on presumably the last day before the plant was shut down. He looked distraught There's a pretty good documentary showing the last day of linotype typesetting at the New York Times. this video
As an aside, check out the 30 minute documentary "Farewell Etaoin Shrdlu" ( this video ) about the end of the linotype era. I'm amazed at the engineering that went into linotype printing.
Somewhat related - there's a good documentary about the last edition of the New York Times published using the linotype process called "Farewell Etaoin Shrdlu" [1]. [1] this video
There’s a neat documentary from the late 1970’s, “Farewell etaoin shrdlu”. It’s about the final day the New York Times was printed using their linotype machines. this video