Not Many People Know That

The six timetables on the left were all printed using traditional techniques. They are created by a series of ‘sextodecimo’ ‘Signatures’. That is, the printing press is set up with 16 pages in a single frame, and then printed again on the reverse side by another 16 pages. The pages are so placed, that when the page has been folded in half, four times you get 16 pages, in sequence. After being folded, three edges are guillotined to give you a small section of the book: the signature, in this case with 32 pages. (FACT you cannot fold a sheet of more than 5 times, no matter how large, so that it sits flat - try it at home!)

The two on the right were created using Computer Aided Typesetting.

The traditional books were all printed by Henry Blacklock and Sons in Manchester. The CAT books went to different printers. Blacklock couldn't keep place with changing technology and the business closed in 1972.