TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

There are two principal trade associations in the paper business, one composed of manufacturers and the other of jobbers.

The American Paper & Pulp Association, composed entirely of manufacturers was organized in 1877. Its purposes were described by its President at the Annual Meeting of 1914, as “entirely educational.” It collects and distributes statistics of production, and consumption, among its members, aims to develop cost systems, agrees upon trades customs, and seeks to bring about uniformity in these respects. Technical education has been the subject of much study by the Association, and it is hoped will lead to the establishment of trade schools.

A labor bureau is maintained, which helps manufacturers to find help, and laborers to secure work.

The Association is separated into divisions; News, Wrapping, Boards, Tissue, and Writing. A Book division was formerly included, but the manufacturers of book paper recently formed a separate organization solely concerned with their special branch of the industry.

The Association has also played a prominent part in representing the industry in tariff matters. The membership represented in 1915—246 mills.

The National Paper Trade Association was organized in 1903. Membership consists of jobbers and includes the following subsidiary associations; Baltimore & Southern Association, Central States Paper Dealers’ Association, Empire State Association, New England Paper Jobbers’ Association, Northwestern Paper Dealers’ Association, Pacific Coast Paper Association, Paper Association of Philadelphia, Paper Association of New York City, Western Paper Dealers’ Association. The total membership in 1916 was 236.

The work of the Association has included credit organization for the exchange of information as to credits; the study and installation of cost systems; consideration of the relations between jobbers and manufacturers.

There are a number of standing committees which have special details assigned to them. They make regular reports at the annual meeting.

The existence of both associations is of distinct benefit to their members, and to the trade in general. The establishment of standard trade customs throughout the country facilitates the conduct of business upon an equitable basis. Copies of these rules are to be found in the price list of most paper jobbers, and as they are subject to occasional changes it seems inadvisable to reprint them here.

A third organization known as the Paper Makers Advertising Club, consisting of 15 Mills, was organized in 1914. Its purpose is to develop the growth of printing by disseminating information about the purpose and uses and planning of “direct-by-mail” advertising. Its membership is open to any paper mill which sells its product in whole or in part under its own brands.


CHAPTER TWELVE
IMPORTANCE OF A KNOWLEDGE OF PRINTING

The study of printing should be more general in all our schools—but not as it is taught so often—by teachers incompetent to glimpse and grasp its widest possibilities—to make it live and thrill with all its latent power.

If its mechanical aspects are over emphasized it must fail to appeal to intellectual scholars, since it cannot sufficiently stir their imaginations to command interest.

The printing and publishing industry stands among the six largest from the point of view of annual value in dollars—in this country—and has, of course, boundless possibilities for good and evil. Nothing is more essential to civilization intellectually or commercially, than printing.

The allied industries are also relatively important. The United States produces more paper than any other five nations combined and hence offers countless opportunities for a good livlihood in this line.

Six hundred million dollars and more are annually expended for advertising in the United States and advertising invariably involves printing of some sort.

Aside from the positions that require a knowledge of printing more or less complete, such as proofreading, publishing, librarians’ work, etc., there are jobs connected with the paper industry where this knowledge, which as a matter of fact is rarely found, would prove of great advantage.

It is evident, moreover, that some practical knowledge of printing may prove useful if not essential for practically all men who engage in commerce or manufacturing. They are all buyers of printing, and it is a difficult commodity to purchase intelligently.

For authors or editors a knowledge of typesetting is very valuable. They should know the mechanics of it, for “author’s corrections” are the bugaboo of most printers and the cause of much unnecessary expense and misunderstanding about the cost of printing, because the inexperienced author seldom realizes that the change of a word may involve the resetting of an entire paragraph.

When we have agreed that a grounding in printing is desirable for prospective authors and business men, we have included a high proportion of our population. Even professional men will find it beneficial, though possibly not in proportion to the time required for its mastery.

From a purely educational point of view, I can emphatically state from personal experience, that nothing ever helped me more in acquiring concentration of mind than typesetting.

There is a wholesome discipline in the performances involved in products of the press. Nor should the aesthetic aspect be ignored. It seems a pity that cultured persons should be so generally ignorant of what constitutes good printing.

The same people who would not wish to admit that they could not recognize a Sheraton chair, or a Rubens painting, have no sense of omission from their educations because of their inability intelligently to appreciate a beautiful example of printing, as mere printing. A collection of well-printed books is an indulgence within the reach of modest incomes and the source of much satisfaction.

Considering that Printing is the “Art preservative of all arts” does it not seem like a subject which should be generally touched upon, at least collaterally, in every institution of higher education?

To sum up a bit: Printing is an industry of basic importance to civilization. It means, therefore, the livlihood directly or indirectly of many persons. The opportunities open to young men well equipped with a knowledge of printing are numerous, and the young man so prepared has an advantage over his competitors.

So much for the commercial aspect.

Aesthetically, printing has risen in the past, and does still, occasionally rise to high levels. Its encouragement as an art should come from the better educated people, as well as from the hard headed business men, who, by producing beautiful catalogs, have actually done much to encourage and bring in an age of better printing.

Educationally, I would like my own children to undergo this training which possesses so much that is fascinating, but is at once exacting and disciplinary to the mind, the eye and the hand.

There is no escape from the consequences of one’s work. It remains proved in black and white, or even in many colors, as a credit or otherwise to one’s imagination, conception and workmanship. It is my conviction that there are large educational advantages in the study of Printing if it be taught by trained enthusiasts in a way to make it live and vibrate with all its far-reaching and inexhaustible power.


INDEX

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book.

Discovered typographical errors were corrected. The non-trivial ones are noted below.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.

Index not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page references.

“livelihood” was consistently spelled as “livlihood”; not changed here.

[Copyright] page: The spelling of the author’s name has been changed from “Wheelright” to “Wheelwright” to match the spelling used throughout the rest of the book and the cover.

Page [11]: The “Note” originally was at the bottom of the first page of the chapter.

Page [15]: The attribution at the end of the long table originally was printed at the bottom of each of the pages containing that table.

Page [59]: “parrafin” was printed that way.

Page [81]: “may be charged to” was misprinted as “changed”.

Page [81]: “case lining give access to moisture” was misprinted as “case linning five access to moisture”.

Page [85]: “when the air becomes dry exposed edges” was misprinted as “when the air becomes due exposed edges”.

Page [91]: No closing quotation mark for the paragraph beginning, “The Paper trade is essentially”.

Page [97]: “CHAPTER TWELVE” was misprinted as “CHAPTER THIRTEEN”.