Salient to be set on campus

The Students' Association will be typesetting Salient on campus next year.

A decision taken at the last Executive meeting bound the Association to a lease on an IBM input typesetting machine.

The machine can be used for other association publications like Student Handbook, Cappicade, Argot and possibly Focus, as well as various other University publications.

The IBM cold typesetting and justifying system involves two main components according to a report submitted to the Exec, by Bill Logan, Simon Arnold and Brian Thornton.

"The input machine which we recommend be ordered now can be considered as a sophisticated typewriter which codes a magnetic tape.

"The coded tapes are fed into an output machine, which is a specialised computer attached to the typewriter with a variable typeface.

"The output material is in the form of columns of type which are pasted onto page makeups.

The difference with the present process is that all material printed is first set in metal and then set in a page makeup.

A piece of paper is laid flat across the metal making an imprint on the page.

Instead of all the copy having to be set in metal, it will simply be typed out by the machine

Over $2,000 will be saved if the machine is used to a fairly minimal capacity.

"Besides cost saving arguments for the leasing of the machine there are considerable organisational and time-saving benefits—having as much as possible of the production of Student Association publications under one roof." the report said.

"Discussions with people concerned with printing and publishing in the university would co-operate with expansion in typesetting facilities along the lines we suggest.

"This would be by giving us work to use our surplus capacity and acquiring complementary equipment."

The major expense involved is the hiring of a Secretary/ typist to do the actual typing.

Other projected expenses include the purchase of a headlining machine which would save over $200 on Salient alone.

"I am very much in support of this proposal," said Gerard Curry at Exec.

"There are very considerable financial gains to be made.

Gerard said he was in favour of a whole review of publications this year; including whether a weekly Salient was possible or desirable and factors such as this were a very worthwhile experiment.

The motion was passed unanimously.