Gearing up

In the old days, we're told, the headlines of Direct Action (a precursor of Green Left) were laid out with letraset. This was all very well until midnight on production night, when someone ran out of 'e's. Then ensued a frantic scramble while the whole thing was re-set in a different type face which had some 'e's remaining. Frequently, the layout would stretch well into the early hours of the morning. Fifteen-hour days were not unusual.

Green Left Weekly does not use letraset for layout. We've modernised our system, geared up for the computer age, with some of the latest desktop software. But it's not enough.

To really take advantage of the latest innovations in production technology, we need a scanner. We also need a faster computer to run it efficiently.

The human resources put into producing your Green Left each week are enormous, and largely unrecognised. It takes hours of proofing, labelling and typing to turn out a high quality alternative newspaper like Green Left every week.

We can't expect more from those doing the hard work of production. The only way we can ensure that Green Left goes on getting better is to improve the technology: gear up and update to the best available. But this costs money.

This year Green Left Weekly is running a $100,000 fund appeal to cover costs and buy equipment to upgrade the paper's production. In order to purchase the equipment we need soon, we must receive $6000 in fund appeal donations by the end of February. Can you contribute?

All donations are part of ensuring that Green Left continues to publish. Please send any donation to Green Left Weekly, PO Box 394, Broadway 2007. Green Left Weekly — it's your geared up paper.

From GLW issue 129