[Suggestions for Compositors, Readers, and Revisers.]
HELP EACH OTHER.
Workmen in every department should follow instructions in spirit as well as in letter. Unthinking performance—the listless doing of just what has been told and no more—is not satisfactory. It is believed the good workman will take interest in his duties. He is expected at suitable times to help others in their work. The excuse that it is “none of my business,” or that “it was the reader’s business,” or that “it was the foreman’s business” to give a word of warning or a helping hand to prevent delay, error, or other trouble is a poor one. It is the business of every man to do what he can to prevent error in any department, and as faulty work is usually done through inattention or unfamiliarity with the style, suggestions should be courteously offered and received.
TYPESETTING.
For the successful maintenance of a high standard of workmanship and for the correctness of the work done in the office, not a little depends upon the care, judgment, skill, and intelligence of the compositors. Indifferent, careless men are not in demand in an office where important publications are constantly being prepared for press, and where the slightest neglect on the part of those handling the work may cause serious delay and confusion in some other division of the office. Recollect that one badly justified line may stop a press; a careless correction spoil the whole edition of a book.
Study the rules.—Compositors are expected to carefully study the rules governing composition. A failure to do this will show plainly in the proof. It must be remembered, however, that all work done in the office is not in accordance with the regular or office style. Special instructions will invariably accompany copy of this kind, and a compositor should ascertain when taking out copy whether it is to be set according to office style; if it is not, he should read instructions carefully and confer fully with the foreman or man at the desk about doubtful questions. The kind of type for the text (other than long primer) and the use of leads are indicated in the preparation of the copy, as are indention, type for headlines, “cast” of tables, and other minor details. The compositor should not go wrong on these matters, nor should his type contain many errors, if he will apply himself, think, make certain of his instructions, and use care.
Divisions.—Frequent divisions of words are undesirable, but do not avoid them entirely at the expense of uniform spacing.
Do not divide compound words except at the compounding hyphen in any but extreme cases.