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Description-Abstract:
Keywords: New Republic Pub. Co. Ltd.
Format-Extent:
00:02:37
Location(s):
British Columbia--Victoria--Chinatown
Location(s) Facet:
British Columbia--Victoria--Chinatown
Transcript:
徐总当时的一些使用的
Interviewer: Mr. Hsu,
印报的技术和机器
Can you talk about the
你可以谈谈吗
printing techniques and equipment used at that time?
当时的印刷 我们中国字
Mr. Hsu: At that time, to print our Chinese characters,
是一个叫做凸字版
we used something called “letterpress plate”
就一个一个字的是凸出来的
in which all the characters had raised surfaces.
反过来的
Each type was opposite to (a normal character).
检字也好 什么也好 都很头大
So, it was difficult to do typesetting or anything else.
凸版了以后做成一篇一篇文章
After we did the metal types, a worker composed them into articles,
把它集中在一起
and we put the movable types together
在一个铁框
into an iron frame.
这里就有一个
Here is one (in the photo).
这里就是用钢做的铁框
The frame was made of steel.
后来把它锁在一起
We locked these frames together
下面是镂空的
and the backside was a hollow surface.
拿起来以后就放在这上面
we took it up and put it on the paper.
你看 平板 这个板是平的
You see. The plate was flat but the paper
不过呢纸是卷的 那个是不一样的
rolled up. That was different.
在亚洲就是那个板是平的 那个纸头
In Asia, the plate was flat and so were the papers.
啪 啪 那种的 一张一张
They pressed on papers one by one like this: (sign of flipping pages one by one).
只有看到过那种
I had never seen this kind of machine before,
没有看到过这种机器
but a machine like this,
不过这种机器
actually,
也是落伍的了
was still outdated.
我们是收人家二手货
It was a used one.
人家换这个所谓的柯氏叫"offset"
The previous owner replaced it with the so-called offset technique.
都是平面的 看不到的
In which both the plate and papers are flat and invisible (from the outside).
到现在用的也都是这样
This technique is still in use now.
他们后来机器要淘汰了
So they wanted to get rid of the machines.
我们就拿来
We took them.
就我打那个机器
This kind of machine, I destroyed two.
打掉了两次 两个机器
After two machines like this,
后来就换了一个offset
we changed to an offset printing machine.
所以这个就很麻烦
So it was troublesome (in using these machines).
他那个地方连那个铅字
The types were not cast.
都没有做
We had to buy them.
就买 很不容易买
It was not easy to buy as well.
所以我在那边呢
So at that time,
自己冲洗照片
I developed the films by myself.
别家没有
No other newspaper press did this.
我自己冲洗照片
还有做那个版
Also I did the plate printing,
像这种 这个版
like this.
你把照片就做成版啦
If you made these photos into a plate,
在外面也贵又慢 真的很贵
It was slow and expensive to hire someone to do it. It was very expensive.
这样子一做的话起码都是
For a photo like this,
二三十块钱一张
It costs 20–30 dollars for each of them,
啊又要等很久
and we had to wait for a long time.
所以我自己做十分钟我就OK了
So if I did it myself, it took me about ten minutes.
为什么？
The main reason is
主要的是你人的照片
that I had to print out the photos.
你一定要把它印出来嘛
When I had some photos of people (mentioned in the articles).
另外就是我就看他们有个铜模
The other thing was the copper mould that (the previous machine owner used).
铜模知道吗
Do you know the copper mould?
就是铅字做这个铜
That was used to make the types.
就这么大的 是铜做的 就倒过来的
It's like this size. And it was made of copper and reversed.
有铜模没有机器
I had the copper mould but I did not have the (typesetting) machine.
机器烂掉了
The machine rusted away.
我在台北要了一个
I asked for one from Taipei.
募来了一个机器
Got one through donation.
就自己搞出来了
I did it by myself (making the types).
还有当时的fax不容易
Also, it was not easy to do faxing.
fax机,这个传真机啊
For the fax machine at that time,
3M先出来
when the 3M fax machine first came to the market,
我们那个要了
we wanted to get one,
只能租
but we could only rent one,
不能买
and we could not buy it.
一个月的租金要400块
The rent was 400 dollars per month.