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Summary:
The author suggests that there has been three paradigm shifts during the 20th century. The first shift was at the turn of the 19th and 20th century, when the first modern typesetting technology was introduced. The new technology, the first major step since the invention of loose types by Gutenberg in the 16th century, became the most important contribution to mass market circulation of newspapers, magazine, textbooks, books and other publications during the years to come. This paper presents the major shifts in prepress technology during the last 30 years and in particular what happened during the last decade. The line casting technology was more or less unchanged during the first half of the 20th century, and only a few technical changes, such as the introduction of punched paper tapes after WW II, improved the productivity of the technology.
A major step forward came when the first affordable computers were introduced on the market, such as the PDP-8 from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1965. But there were many forces who wanted to suppress the new technology. Despite strong union opposition, however, the second paradigm shift became a reality when computerized front-end systems for newspaper and other publications were introduced in the end of 1970s.
At the end of the 1980s, publishers were looking for cheaper and more efficient production methods, and the third paradigm shift happened with the introduction of DTP (desk top publishing), which soon became the only possible front-end technology. To-day, the Apple Mac is still the most popular technology in the publishing market, but Adobe Systems Inc. - the inventor of PostScript and PDF-technology - is the new giant.
Previously, many customers were complaining about the lack of competition and industry standards in the front-end market. Now, Adobe has created a de facto world standard with the PDF-process, which is also backed by the ISO. A new monopoly in the front-end technology has been created by default. Never before has one single company been in a similar position in the graphic art industry. For this industry it is like falling from the frying pan into the fire!