How Did Printing Begin?

LucyB    Copy Machines     Johannes Gutenberg, printing press

As we pace between our desks and the printer each day at work, we rarely stop to think about how commercial printing all began. The printing press started its life way back in the second millennium AD; the first systems were assembled by a German goldsmith by the name of Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany, around 1440.

The first books were produced in an assembly-line style; during the Renaissance, a printing press could print about 3,600 each workday. Printing spread rapidly, and by 1500, printing was in full swing throughout Western Europe. In 1620, English philosopher Francis Bacon felt confident in declaring that printing had changed the face of the world.

Treat Your Copy Machine Right

LucyB    Copy Machines     copy machine

Copy machines can be devils. You know what I mean. Just when you need to run off 50 copies of an agenda for a meeting that starts in 5 minutes, or your boss has asked for a color copy of that report RIGHT NOW, your copy machine decides to throw a tantrum. And copy machine tantrums are no pretty things. We’re talking about the machine grinding to a complete halt, lights flashing everywhere, urgent beeping noises, and your originals stuck in the jaws of the paper feeder; you don’t know if you’re going to get them out alive or not. To rectify the problem, you have interpret a series of confusing diagrams, which indicate where the blockage has occurred and what you need to do. You think you’ve removed all the paper, but the machine’s still telling you that something’s wrong. Finally, you spot and remove that last little shred of paper, and all is well. My advice is to be kind to your copy machine by treating it right with good quality paper and by not feeding it crumbled originals. Have it serviced regularly, and change the toner when it asks you to. Treat it right, and it’ll treat you right. Because no one wants to be in a copy machine’s bad books.