Saw a drafting table setup at an old print shop in Pittsburgh that blew my mind

I was in Pittsburgh last weekend checking out this old print shop that's been around since the 50s. The guy running it still uses a full size drafting table with a parallel bar and a vintage lamp, no CAD at all. He showed me how he plots out all his layouts by hand before even touching a computer. It made me think about how much we rely on software and if we're losing some of that spatial feel. Anyone else still use a manual setup for certain jobs, or am I just old school for thinking about it?

2 comments

2 Comments

fisher.charlie6d ago

Wait wait wait, he plots everything by hand on a full size drafting table BEFORE touching a computer?! That's wild! I thought people only did that in movies about the 60s or something. He's not even using it just for rough sketches, he's mapping out the whole layout with a parallel bar and everything. That takes serious patience and skill, like you can't just undo with ctrl+z if you mess up a line. Honestly I kinda love that he's keeping that craft alive, there's something real about moving a pencil across paper that software just can't replace.

angela433d ago

Totally agree @fisher.charlie, error correction just feels different when you have to physically erase.