A STALWART of the print industry, Teddy Gounden was one of the people actively involved in the production process of the Northglen News when the first copy hit the streets in 1974.

This was back in the day when there were little to no machines to do the job, so everything was done manually. We are talking cut and paste method which took almost 18 hours a day, seven days a week, before you could see the end product.

Gounden says it was not just the Northglen News being produced but the Highway Mail (since 1964), Berea News (now known as Berea Mail) and Queensburgh News.

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“These were the days when everything had to be typeset on metal stereos and then run into galleys. Only a few samples would be created and then edited and proofread before the paper was printed. The final pages would then go to the darkroom for negatives to be made and then to plate and then print. Journalists would type their stories on old IBM typewriters and sales reps would go to clients and come back with a mock-up of an advert. The adverts were typed with borders around them. They would then have to fax advert proof to their clients for changes. Some would go to the clients in person to amend the advert. Despite all of this, which now with modern technology, seems time consuming, the paper was never distributed late,” he said.

It was hours of manual work with days beginning at 07.00 and ending as late as 04.00 the following morning sometimes. There were 16 staff who saw the process through from start to finish – five type setters, eight compositors, two in the dark room and one to develop film. As the business grew, more staff were employed and shift work was introduced.

“About 100 pages were sent to press manually every week and on schedule. Once the paper was compiled, a mock would be printed and one person would proof that entire paper before printing the whole batch,” he said.

Gounden was employed at Highway Mail in 1964 when the office was still in Blake Road. The business then moved to Murray Square, Sandy’s Centre, Caversham, Gillits and then finally to Escom Road in New Germany.

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Walking through the passages of the building, being met, hugged and greeted by familiar faces, nostalgia took over and Gounden was hit with a flashback of memories.

“By this time (1964), technology started evolving at a fast pace. Caxton had bought the four titles and it made sense for the business to do its own printing instead of outsourcing it. I remember the foundation being laid for the new machinery. It was a few meters deep, almost the same height as me. Just like that, it was the beginning of a new era for us,” he said.

“I retired in 2006 after 60 years in the print industry. When I retired things were becoming more computerised. Now I look around the printing press and everything is computerised. The industry, one that I am proud to have been a part of, is still going strong and it makes me happy to know that publications such as the Northglen News are still being printed today, five decades later. Local news is the heart of any community and I wish the paper well for years to come,” he added.

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