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Printercraft was a craft on Pern, established in the Ninth Pass after the rediscovery of AIVAS. The major crafthall was located in Landing.

Description[]

A detailed description of the Craft on the basis of the The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern

As part of the Thread elimination project. Aivas had already had the Harper Hall build a printing press. The first was made at Landing; subsequent units were produced in the Harper Hall and cevere, but renamed under the auspice of the Harpercraft.

The technology was simple, and the presses could be run by any number of power sources already available: hand, animal power, water, wind, or electricity. Rolls of paper, provided by Bendarek and the Woodcrafthall, would feed the press.

Lead type, handset iline-forms, was eagerly adopted by the Harpers. It was durable, easily repaired, cleaned, and changed. More importantly, it was easy to read. And the ancient printers’ jargon delighted the harpers.

The Printers Hall is allied with the Harpercraft but independent and autonomous. The main crafthall is at Landing, under the direction of Harper Tagetarl; another is at Ruatha, giving that ancient hold its first crafthall since the Beastcraft and Farmercraft moved out once Keroon was established; a third is at Lemos, to oversee the papermaking branch of the Woodcraft, under Master Bendarek, for its needs.

The printercraft is responsible for all printed material on Pern, ranging from books and technical manuals to flyers and news bulletins. Due to the recent founding of the craft, there is only one known hall, located in Wide Bay Hold. The hall works closely with the Harper Hall, which is responsible for arts, music and teaching, and the Woodsmithcraft, which produces paper.

Positions and responsibilities[]

  • Printer — the general name of specialists.

History[]

First Pass — Eighth Interval[]

Historically, Pernese made use of skins as a writing surface after the knowledge of producing paper was lost, and nearly all written material was hand-copied. This meant that written records deteriorated over time and were prone to mistakes.

Ninth Pass[]

Paper was reinvented by Bendarek in the Ninth Pass, which replaced skins. After the discovery of AIVAS, printed material was accessible through AIVAS's own printers. The necessity of conserving paper led AIVAS to request that the Harper Hall create a printing press to print their own material. The printing press proved to be a useful and popular invention. As a result of the demand, the Printer Hall was formed as an independent hall, though it was allied with the Harper Hall and the Woodsmithcraft Halls. Tagetarl, a member of the Harper Hall, was elected as the Printercraft's first master.

The printer hall proved to be very popular, as printed books were highly desirable. In addition, the ability to provide printed facts proved useful in several emergency situations, such as the Fireball Flood and the Abominators. Eventually, the Printercraft came under attack from Abominators, who distrusted AIVAS-introduced technology and believed that the hall printed lies. Thanks to forewarning by the runners, Tagetarl and Master Harper Mekelroy were able to take precautions and capture the attackers, who were exiled.


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