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THE OFFSET REVOLUTION "Leads and slugs and lino metal may be melted and sold to sporting goods stores for fish sinkers and for the guys who make their own bullets. "Reglets are no problem. We've already sold ours to Boy Scouts to rub together. "Type cases smash up nicely into kindling. And seriously -we sold a dozen to a lady who uses them for display of polished rocks. "Isn't there an eye disease which makes children see things backward and upside down? Think of the market for all type from 36 point up to 72, to teach these kids to read. "Smaller type could be sold to people who want solid confetti to throw down from the tenth floor on passing parades. Maybe on Mr. Nixon the next time he gets his expletive in a wringer? "Linotypes are no bother. We have a Model 14 in the living room, highly polished, wonderful conversation piece. An antique Model 5 is in the spare bedroom, perfect for guests to hang clothes on, also creating crowded conditions inducing guests to leave sooner." The widespread conversion to offset, particularly by community papers, generated an unforeseen problem, however. It was telephone sales pitches for products used in the offset process -- blanket wash liquids, plates, developers and film foremost on the list. Very few legitimate companies used this sales method, so the odds were long that the speaker on the other end of the line was very likely to be peddling something that was over-priced and of questionable quality. The afore-mentioned Max Call told his readers of the situation in his "Trivia" column, a Manti Messenger feature. It drew guffaws from his contemporaries who read it in their exchanges. One of life's big irritations for me is a telephone salesman, Call led off, adding I'm sure you know the kind I mean. Those guys (or gals) who call from Chicago or New York and ask for Max... 235 |
