Dec 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 12

The Introduction of the MacIntosh in 1984 and the Apple LaserWriter in 1985,
were both a game changer for small publishers like The BLUES.
on letters for the headlines.
Proofing: Once the paste-up was complete, the
newspaper’s editors would review the layout and
make any necessary changes or corrections. This
might involve adjusting the placement of text or
images, reworking headlines or captions, or making
other changes to improve the overall design
and readability of the paper. In other words, more
yelling from the front office.
Printing: After the proofing process was complete,
the paste-up pages would be sent to the
printing press at the Conroe Courier. The production
staff would use a large process camera to
create negatives, which would be used to create
printing plates, that would be used to print the
newspaper. This was typically done using large,
specialized printing presses that could print thousands
of copies of the newspaper at a time.
Overall, designing and laying out a newspaper
in the 1980s was a complex and time-consuming
process that required a high level of skill and attention
to detail. It was a critical part of the newspaper
production process, as it played a key role in
determining the overall look and feel of the paper
and in ensuring that the content was presented in
an engaging and visually appealing way.
All of this changed in late 1985 when Apple
introduced the Macintosh computer. This single
computer revolutionized the newspaper and print
industry. Now you could type the articles in a program
called “MacWrite” edit the stories, and then
print the articles in 2” columns and paste them like
before. Then in 1986, a new program called Page-
Maker was created and OMG the planets aligned,
and you could ‘design’ the entire tabloid using this
program and print one single page. Then all you
did was paste this 11 x 17 page onto the layout
sheets. Imagine doing all this on a 9” screen.
Now unless you have a passion for the way
things used to be done, none of this may interest
you at all. But way before there was an internet
and or digital anything, this was the process one
used to create printed publications. For years, we
assembled these layout sheets and carried them to
the printer every month. It was just the way it was
done.
90 The Blues 40th Anniversary Issue