17.
“I worked for a printing press outside of Chicago from 1998 to 1999. We used giant lamps to burn yellow, magenta, cyan, and black colors to create images. 17-year-old me was always excited to see the final image. The company went out of business around 2010 as that tech obviously became obsolete in the internet era.”
“Ah, yes, matchprints they were called. I was a pre-press printer for almost 10 years. The last place I worked ran three shifts, seven days a week, with all the overtime you wanted. The whole trade was completely decimated in a matter of about two years. I still remember the rumors of this thing called the internet that was gonna take all of our jobs. People got nervous, fights broke out, and then it happened. Sad. Printing was a huge industry and a great trade. Now it doesn’t exist.”
—u/boxhall
