Life, 1921-04-21 · page 4 of 36
Life — April 21, 1921 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising**, not satire or political commentary. It's a Warren Company advertisement for printing papers, disguised as editorial content. The illustration shows a business scenario: a man at a desk reviewing printing work while a woman (likely a supervisor or manager) stands nearby. The quoted headline suggests an unexpected responsibility—suddenly being asked to make printing decisions. The ad's strategy is to argue that **anyone in business might need printing knowledge**, even if they never expected to. By positioning Warren's standardized papers as a solution to this unpredictable need, the company appeals to businesspeople's anxiety about appearing unknowledgeable. The "better paper = better printing" message and the logo at bottom are straightforward product promotion. There is no political or social satire present—this is mid-century corporate marketing using relatable workplace scenarios.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“No, sir, you can’t tell WHEN you will have to take responsibility for some printing” EOPLE are buying printing today who a few years ago never dreamed of being called upon to do such work. Maybe you feel you will never have to person- ally supervise a printing job. Maybe you have aman in your office who looks after those things. Just the same, you may be called on any day for a decision about printing, and it is worth while to know something about such things. Printing consists of a film ofink less than one two-thousandths of an inch thick, applied to paper. Theimportance of the paper, its thickness, its weight, its surface, becomes apparent when that fact is considered. It is all the more apparent that whatever kind of paper is used, uniformity or a standardization of all its qualities can make a difference in the way the printing is done. S. D. Warren Company recognize the need for different kinds of printing, and manufacture a dozen grades of standard uniform paper to the end that whatever you wish to print, a stand- ardized paper will enable you to get better work with decreased trouble and ex- pense. Printers agree that this is so. A working knowledge of the names and purposes of Warren’s Standard Printing Papers is useful information. better paper better printing S. D. WARREN COMPANY, N addition, every paper merchant sell- ing Warren's Standard Printing Papers distributes once each month to printers and engravers a printed book on one of Warren's Standard Printing Papers. These books are intended to be cut up to serve as material for con: structing dummy booklets. They contain specimens of type and type pages set in different measures, leaded and unleaded They show borders, cover designs, in- side page layouts, a variety of illustra: tions, initials, and hand lettering. Also they show the kind of printing that any good printer can do on the same kind of paper. This month's book is printed on Warren's Silkote. It can be obtained from most catalog printers or from any paper merchant who sells Warren's Standard Printing Papers. If you do not know the Warren Dis- tributor nearest your city, t i us for his name. Printing Papers BOSTON, MASS. WARREN® STANDARD PRINTING PAPERS comicbooks.com