The Machine Age

I recently visited a printworks on an unassuming industrial estate in Beverley (about 30 miles from York) having been set a brief to capture a series of images that could be used by the client to promote their printing services to local businesses.

There existed a definitive line between old and new technologies under the same crinkly tin roof.  Impressively large polyethylene armoured HP machines sat alongside men's machines -  workhorses seeming built from iron and fuelled by sweat.

At first glance there was little of visual interest when capturing the modern machine but once the proud operator offered to open its doors I it became clear that the same level of impressive engineering that I would find later had made its way into the modern models.  Cylinders of toner stood side-by-side leading to mixing tanks beneath, each of which was plugged into a piping system reminiscent of an automated cow-milking lineup.

The older machines revealed an interesting juxtaposition of hard and cold materials, of oil and paint, of noise and calamity, delicately handling sheets of 80 and 250gsm paper to produce glossy reports and brochures.