New Technology and Traditional Skills in Printing:: a Longitudinal Study of Compositors in Edinburgh

Printing has a long and illustrious history as a craft industry. This study explores the effects of technological change on skilled workers in the Edinburgh general printing industry. Three distinct areas of sociological theory concerning technological change shaped my research. These were, first, to establish the nature of recent technological change, and what drives it; second, to explore managers¿ decision- making in relation to such changes; and third, to understand how workers¿ experiences of work and relationships at work have changed with these changes in technology. The effects upon workers were unexpected. Computerised typesetting programs did bring deskilling, but original skills, learnt over many years of rapidly changing technology, did remain relevant, and the acquisition of new skills associated with computerisation was regarded favourably. The most significant change for workers was the increased pressure resulting from a close relationship with customers, with vastly reduced time allowed for each job, and erosion of workers¿ capacity (and managers¿) to produce work which satisfied their own standards of quality.