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Arthur Hemmings

About the author He served his apprenticeship in the printing industry from 1952 to 1958 and became a qualified engineer in a large Book and Commercial printing and Binding Company in the North of England. He did his two-year National Service in the Royal Air Force from January 1959 to January 1962. After returning to the company, he joined the Method Study Department in 1962. He was promoted to Chief Method Study Officer in January 1964 and then to Research and Development Manager within the Method Study Department, which was under his responsibility. In May 1964, he visited the Northeastern States of America on a fact-finding tour to establish an up-to-date state of Computer and Filmsetter developments related to potential Book Production. After returning to the UK in June, he and his team spent the next six months analysing hundreds of books to determine the most common software requirements, many of which did not exist at the time and needed to be developed for a computer program. Meanwhile, they stayed up to date with hardware developments, including Lithographic printing presses, on both sides of the Atlantic. By early 1965, they had gathered all the necessary information to work on creating the first computerised book-setting system in the UK. Eventually, they settled on a Photon 713 film setter (USA-manufactured), an Elliot Automation 903 Computer (English-manufactured), 8-level paper tape verifying keyboards (English), and Crabtree Lithographic presses (English). After months of working with Elliot Automation, developing the software and installing the system, it was finally ready to launch. The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, visited the Company to press the button, and the first computerised typeset and filmset book was produced in the UK. He retired from the printing industry in 1996 and spent many happy holidays with his wife, touring the USA and Europe. View all posts by Arthur Hemmings