Disappearing jobs: Letterpress operator (video)
In the days before laser printers and ebooks and tablets, a company like Aardvark Letterpress would be using gears, cogs and actual pots of molten lead to make molds for business cards and posters. Actually, today — they still use the same technology.
Cary Ocon and his family own and run Aardvark Letterpress, using relief printing which literally presses ink into paper, leaving a slight indentation. They’re based in downtown Los Angeles and Ocon will tell you they still use technology that originated with Gutenberg.
Ocon remembers when there were a lot of letterpress companies in Los Angeles. He says he remembers days when they had trouble paying rent and bills. “Everyone else died off and now there aren’t a lot of places to go — it’s us.”
Stories You Might Like
We’re here to help you navigate this changed world and economy.
Our mission at Marketplace is to raise the economic intelligence of the country. It’s a tough task, but it’s never been more important.
In the past year, we’ve seen record unemployment, stimulus bills, and reddit users influencing the stock market. Marketplace helps you understand it all, will fact-based, approachable, and unbiased reporting.
