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There is no department in the art that is better provided with means
for its efficient prosecution than job printing. It is true that an
establishment fully provided with all the old and new conveniences
will involve a very considerable outlay; yet a beginner in a small
way, who has to count the cost carefully, may avail himself of many
facilities which were unknown a score of years ago. The smaller the
capital, the more need for the exercise of a wise discretion in the
selection of material. Regard should be had to the special line of
work to be undertaken, and the type and presses adapted to that line
should be selected. If the master himself shall work with head and
hand, perseveringly and early and late, and shall do good work at fair
prices—never cutting-under to secure a job at non-paying rates,—and shall
be obliging in manner and punctual in delivery, and shall waste no dimes
in drink or other useless expenses, the growth of his business will be
only a matter of time; and he will gradually be able to order just what
that growth necessitates, until he shall find himself the proprietor of a
well-appointed office and a paying business. In his first outlay and in
all his additions, the best of every kind should be gotten, if possible,
as cheap things always prove dear.
It matters little how well appointed an office may be, there will be no
gains in it unless the proprietor, counting the cost carefully, makes
sure that every job shall pay a reasonable profit.
When a job is taken in, it should be fully entered in a volume, giving
all particulars in regard to the number of copies, style, and price.
This may serve as a Day Book or Blotter. A memorandum-slip, like the
following, may be filled out for each job, and kept on file after the
work shall have been completed:—