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A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
A History of the Perth Printing Industry
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Dundee
On
the newspaper side, the Evening Post launched by the Thomsons in
1900 joined up with the Evening Telegraph in 1905 and continues
today under that title. The Sunday Post was launched in Glasgow
in 1914. It was first known as the Post Sunday Special until it
took its present title in 1919. It has been one of the success stories
of the industry. In 1926, following the General Strike, the Dundee
Advertiser merged with the Dundee Cou-rier, which today has one
of the largest circulations among provincial newspapers in the UK.
Soon after the First World War, the firm decided to expand its magazine
business to take up printing time on presses not fully occupied
by newspapers. This was made possible by the de-velopment of an
additional fold to a tabloid newspaper by what is known as a pony
folder. The company first entered the children’s market with
the Adventure, a text story for boys, which was launched in 1921.
This was followed rapidly by the Rover, Wizard, Vanguard, Skipper,
and Hotspur. In 1937 came the first of the comics, Dandy, and soon
afterwards the Beano which still has the largest sale of children’s
comics in the UK.
The period following the Second World War saw a great expansion
in Thomson’s business, not only in the launching of many new
magazines and chil-dren’s papers but also Christmas annuals.
The company is rightly proud of the fact it con-tinues as an independent
family firm. In fact, the group is the only truly Scottish controlled
com-pany among the principal newspaper publishers in Scotland —
all their publications are owned and based in Scotland.
It has never been their policy to acquire outside publications.
The purchase of the Scots Magazine in 1927 was an exception. It
was first published on 9 February 1739 as a 48-page booklet, price
six-pence monthly, edited and printed in Edinburgh. A favourite
with Scots both at home and abroad, it celebrated its 250th anniversary
in 1989 as the world’s oldest popular periodical.
The printing scene in Dundee today is in contrast with the picture
at the end of the last century when some twenty-five firms were
trading. There is little doubt this is due to the spread of new
technology and, perhaps equally important, the ability of business
in general to install their own office printing equipment.
This short history of printing in Dundee cannot end without recognising
the important contribu-tion to the industry made by the Duncan of
Jordanstone College of Art. Initially printing classes were established
in Bell Street but in 1959 a Department of Printing was set up in
the College’s new building in Perth Road with completely new
equipment. In its early years the department was responsible for
the day release training of printing apprentices in the city and
also from Perth. In later years apprentices from Aberdeen were accommodated
for block release training and courses were further developed by
the introduction of the Printing and Publishing Industrial Training
Board Pilot Scheme. The Scheme made history as for the first time
it enabled students from the highlands and islands to attend further
education in print.
Credit must be given to Dundee for setting up the first Distance
Learning Course in print in the UK. This drew students from as far
afield as London, Devon, and Northern Ireland. It says much for
the dedication of the staff that all 131 teaching units were written
by members of the staff in their own time. The increasing spread
of new technology, both within and outwith the trade, resulted in
a diminishing demand for formal apprentice train-ing and the Department
of Printing closed in 1986.
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Volume 3 published 1996
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