System Update...

System Update...

An article describing technological changes at The Washington Post, which includes an image of composing room members.

Employees of the composing room at The Washington Post created an internal newsletter for sharing information. Issues of CompWaves included announcements about workplace changes, covered the events held at work, and shared updates on the activities of employees and their families. These texts would have been a useful means for communicating important workplace information with both Deaf and hearing employees with variable schedules and communication strategies. The February 1989 issue includes an article detailing an impending technological change from RayComp to Ad Builder. The accompanying photograph includes Deaf printer, Penny Herbold.

The Washington Post Composing Room

Janie Golightly Collection

February 1990

This Item has been made available for educational and research purposes by the Drs. John S. and Betty J. Schuchman Deaf Documentary Center at Gallaudet University. This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You may need to obtain permission for your intended use if your use is otherwise not permitted by the copyright and applicable related rights legislation. For specific information about the copyright and reproduction rights for this Item, please contact the Schuchman Deaf Documentary Center: https://www.gallaudet.edu/drs-john-s-and-betty-j-schuchman-deaf-documentary-center

System Update... Have you been wondering what is going on in the new room across from the stock room? The room has been set up by Data Processing's Sandy Matuschka and Jim Guill as a site to test equipment and evaluate software for two new systems. The Editorial Department has one on the drawing board and the other is for Composing. The Composing Room project team consists of Jim Berk, Penny Herbold, Ron Prue, Mike Divver, and is being co-managed by Mary Ann Collett and John Braun. Their primary responsibility lies in the testing of personal computers as a possible replacement for the RayComp system. The computer that has been selected is Apple’s MacIntosh and the software package, Ad Builder, has been provided by Digital Technology International (DTI). In addition to evaluating functions and performance that are necessary to produce a large volume of display ads, tests are also being conducted to compare production times of ads composed on both the MacIntosh and RayComp systems. The project team has submitted several requests to DTI for functional changes and improvements and DTI is making an effort to provide the software enhancements, but acceptance is still pending on both the hardware and software.