Life, 1921-07-21 · page 29 of 34
Life — July 21, 1921 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily advertising**, not satire or political commentary. It's a trade advertisement for Warren's Standard Printing Papers, presented as an editorial-style article in *Life* magazine. The main content argues that printers, as professionals, cannot guarantee uniform quality across all jobs because customer demands (rushing, poor photographs, cost-cutting) affect outcomes. The solution promoted is using better paper—specifically Warren's products—as a step toward "Better Printing." The accompanying John Jones and Company printer's advertisement (top right) reinforces this message with the slogan "better paper / better printing." **For modern readers**: This represents early 20th-century B2B marketing disguised as editorial content—a practice common in trade publications. The argument essentially positions quality paper as a professional standard that printers should insist upon, protecting their reputation despite customer pressures. There is no political satire or cartoon here; it's straightforward industry advertising.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
When a printer advertises, what can he say? RINTING is a business, but the printer is something of a professional man besides. Like the professional man, the printer is ham- pered by one persistent fact. He cannot guar- antee to do for all customers the kind and quality of work he does for one customer. That is because every job the printer under- takes is in some degree affected by his customer’s haste, his taste, and his ideas of what is good economy. As an example, he cannot take time to do his best work when “rush” is the essence of the contract. He cannot receive a set of poor photo- graphs of ordinary merchandise and produce printed pictures that portray high-grade goods. He cannot make uninteresting “copy” command reading. He cannot eliminate necessary work to “save expense” and produce a job that deserves a place in the exhibitions of the American Insti- tute of Graphic Arts. One thing good printers can do and are doing. They can stand firmly on the policy that Better Paper is a long step toward Better Printing. That is a fact which cannot be repeated too often. One of the hardest things a printer is called upon to do is to explain the difference be- tween two samples of paper that look exactly alike. One will work smoothly on the press, it will take the ink properly, it will fold and not break. The other will not, or if it will do these things, its fellow-sheets will cause trouble. : We do not ask you to tell your better | printer what paper he is to use on Paper | your job. We do ask you to believe better | him when he tells you why he pre- fers to print on papers that are g known standards of printing quality. John Jones and: Company PRINTERS Fine“booklets and catalogs ‘executed with neatness and dispatch. A special department Gevoted to direct advertising. better paper better — printing. fool Pra ipa: £6 fii Lat Your patronage is solicited John Jones and Company 416 South Broadway Amboy, New Jersey Vi 5 i ali Tomorrow Morning ot 8:30 SALE of wer HERE are many printing jobs which do not require the use of coated paper for satisfac- tory results. Warren’s Cumberland Super Book is an uncoated paper finished for rapid press-work, with a printing surface that will give excellent re- sults with medium screen half-tones. This month, the paper merchants whosell Warren’s Standard Printing Papers are distributing to printers, engravers, and others interested, a book showing the wide field of usefulness of Warren’s Cumberland Super Book. This book was meant to be cut up. Its contents of type, borders, illustrations, designed headings, specimen pages, were selected with the idea that they could be clipped out and used by printers and others in preparing working dummies. If you do not know the paper merchant to whom you should apply for a copy, write us and we shall send you his name. S. D. WARREN COMPANY, BOSTON, MASS. WARREN'S STANDARD PRINTING PAPERS comicbooks.com