Printing

At the beginning of each term, I submit all seven cartoons to be printed for the volume.  The images are scanned into The Hotline computer and sized down and manipulated [no pun] as necessary to fit onto the page.  The finished page is printed out on a laser printer and sent off with the rest of the paper’s pages to the copier.  A relatively simple process according to my dad, who remembers his days of cartooning for the Daily Trojan.  His drawings (which were about 11″ x 14″) were photographed.  From the negative, the correct size was obtained, and exposed on a photosensitive zinc plate.  The plate was then processed in an acid bath which served to dissolve away all negative portions of the image, leaving only the positive (ie. the lines of the drawing).  The zinc plate, which now contained a reversal of his cartoon image, was hand polished to remove any metallic burrs.  The zinc plate was then inserted into a large lead plate which contained the rest of the printing that would be seen on that particular page.  This image of the completed page was pressed onto a cellulose mat.  The cellulose mat was then cut in half horizontally and used to line the half-pipe molds for the printer rollers.  Molten lead was poured into each mold.  Once hardened, the molds were joined, and a solid cylinder, which now was essentially a “stamp” of the page, would be loaded up on the printing machine.  With the printing machine running, the roller would spin around as an inking device inked the image and the newsprint was fed through.  “A bit more time consuming,” I’d say… “Ahh, the advantages of technology!”