The printing industry at one time, had the highest percentage of functioning alcoholics and drug abusers in the workforce , which made it quite hazardous to the sober, but also very funny at times. It was quite normal in the 1970's and 1980's to nip up to the pub at lunch time and have a couple of beers or one or two nips of whiskey, and then return to work. Needless to say, productivity suffered and mistakes crept in, but at least they were happy about. If you ever wondered why something was printed upside down, had typo's galore or just looked plain awful, that is probably because the workforce was either high or drunk. Just as drinking and driving became taboo, you will be glad to know that the printing industry has cleaned up it's act and passed the torch on to software and game developers and the hospitality industry. Working in a deadline industry brings it's own unique challenges but now that the technology actually works very well, we have seen a sobering of the workforce, along with a decline in the humor. There was nothing more funny than waiting for the ambulance to show up, after a drunk or high person got their hand or hair sucked into a printing press and them not realizing that this was a life changing event. 3 Fingers Johnny as he became known, would certainly attest to that at his workers comp hearing, and you could hear the sniggers from the panel when he tried to explain that he had 2 fingers left, but they nicknamed him after the 3 fingers he lost. He kept his job even though he was obviously blootered out of his mind at the time of the incident. So as you get into the festive period, have some sympathy today and tonight and perhaps a toast to all those who built an industry and have no memory of it. I take my hat off to them and am quite relieved that the industry has become less high and more sober.
Print Tip of the Day
Designing a printed piece, while partaking in a glass of wine may seem like a good idea at the time but it is very obvious to the prepress person working on your files what you were doing!
Hash Tags of the Day
#printraleigh #printdurham #printchapelhill #telepathicgraphics
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