Where setting is hopelessly bad and nothing better can be secured, much may be achieved by calling in the assistance of the smaller printer. In every town of any reasonable size, the newspaper is not the only printing company, and very often the smaller man who is depending on a clientele demanding commercial printing, is much keener on doing better work than the news paper office. lie is also much more susceptible to the value of the regular printing order, and if the advertiser were to seek him out and give him work regularly he would find that he would get useful technical co-operation. There would be no difficulty in getting into touch with such a man, showing him frankly what was necessary and asking him to do his best, and the provision of a complete stereo for the newspaper from the result would be quite a simple step. This, of course, is the more expensive way, as the cost of setting would add to the cost of insertion, the newspaper in most cases undertaking its setting for the inchisive charge represented by its scale rate. On the other hand, where newspapers are obstinately impeding the advertiser, it would remove ail cases of friction, either due to limitations represented by a poor range of types, or unskilled labour, or a desire to keep down .ype setting expenses. The effective way of with all these drawbacks is • the complete stereo—the method used by all the leading advertising traders who work from a London or a city centre. They trust in no measure to the setting of the local office, but send their advertisements set ready for insertion.
To-day the retail trader has other advantages, although he does not use them to their limit. There have sprung up of late years several organisa tions which supply illustrations designed for local advertising, working them into complete and suitable spaces, providing the right kind of matter and devising suitable display, the whole being usually as strong an advertisement to the eye as is put out by any of the larger advertisers. This advertising assistance has been found valuable by many retailers away from technical resources, and a free use of such service is destined to improve local adver tising conditions. There is only one drawback to such a scheme— the ready made advertisement by au expert at a distance, composed to meet the needs of traders in various centres, misses the specific need, but the hint remains quite as valuable, and a little intelligent adaption suffices. Taking such an advertisement and placing it in the hands of a local printer with the necessary alterations would ensure a thoroughly up-to-date announcement. The work of such service is cheap because the expense is reduced in pro portion to the demand. Thus, for instance, an advertisement designed for a draper might have one drawing in it, one ornamental border, and the work of an advertising expert before the whole is completed. Borne by cue retail trader in a small retail business such an advertisement would be expensive in proportion to his advertising outlay. He would have to pay for the drawing, he would have to pay for an electro of the drawing, he would then have to pay the services of the exnert to arrange the completed advertisement, or do it himself, and he would finally have to pay the printer to set it so that lie could take a complete stereo for use in the newspaper.
The firms who are supplying these complete advertisements overcome this difficulty by selling the same thing, perhaps, a dozen times, and dis tributing the cost of the complete production over that number of users.
An ideal combination, even against the most obstinate newspaper, would be to use such a firm as an inspiration and use a local printer prepared to co-operate in securing the proper type-setting. It should be remembered that these suggestions are offered to advertisers who are face to face with newspapers which will not do anything to help them towards efficiency. Although there are many newspapers who do not help the advertiser, a great alteration has come over the attitude of the press in this matter, and the number of papers which deliberately place obstacles in the way of the advertiser is rapidly diminishing. Competition is so keen that il2 news paper with up-to-date ideas of management are beginning to reverse the old policy, though it dies hard. In some enterprising oflicec, even in small country towns, the advertising manager submits ideas, suggestions, and illustrations to the advertiser, while the work is also supported by first class printing resources. The modern newspaper, instead of dragging behind the advertiser, is at last showing signs of a desire to understand his needs and to help to promote his interests. At present these are only signs, but as paper after paper demonstrates the advisability of such an attitude by increasing its advertising revenue, other newspapers will follow the example. The day will probably come when the will find every one of his technical difficulties shouldered by the newspaper. It will give him ideas, submit illustrations, reproduce them for him, and even improve on his display. It will pay the newspaper to be in front of the advertiser as a teacher, rather than behind him, actually hampering his methods. In the meantime, that happy day has not yet arrived, and the advertiser must go on with his own work, the trader at a distance from a large town doing his best to reduce the disadvantages under which he labours through restricted technical resources.
One other point is worth noting, which might help the retailer—the study of journals devoted wholly or in part to advertising subjects. There are several such journals in England and the United States which deal with advertising from every point of view and occasionally contain excellent articles on technical methods. The trader out of touch with the advertising interests might find many useful suggestions by making a study of such journals, while occasionally he will get practical hints which actually solve sonic of his difficulties, besides being kept in touch with what other men are doing in the advertising field. Such journals will also place him in touch with men who do specialised forms of advertising work, not available in towns.