Oct 1, 2009

Print in Singapore
WORK
NOT
NOTE:
This sample is meant as to showcase
the “feel’ of the book, especially the
sequencing, thus only fragments of
stories are presented. Because this book is
constantly being rewritten and added to,

IN
it is inefficient to spend limited resources
on design and layout at this time….once
FOR the text, page size and format have been
finalized, world class design work will
PUBLIC begin….
This is a working document and, in some

DISPLAY
cases, the images are used for reference
only. Research into IP issues is underway.
internal use ONLY Again-this is a work in progress and will
change greatly…..

PROGRESS
This is a work in progress. Time and effort have been focused on research and interviews rather
than photography and design. This book will be update frequently.

This book aims to:

Provide, for a worldwide audience, an overview of the print industry in Singapore from 1819 to the
present.
Profile those individuals and organizations which have contributed to the Singaporean print
industry
Showcase contemporary fine art printmakers, designers and print advertisements which showcase
the vibrancy of Singapore

Use a variety of literary techniques such as journalism, reportage and interviews as well as creative
fact-based fiction and photojournalism.
Size: 230 X 230
(subject to change)
1
2
Industrial art showcase

3
Many thanks are in order to…
Add email tree guys, staff of the Library of the Singapore Botanical Gardens, Dr. Chin See Chung(Director of the Singa-
pore Botanical Gardens) Staff of the National Archives, staff of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library in the National
Library, Serene’s cousins place, Hua Song Museum, Michael Tan, David Brown, Jocelyn Lee,Singapore Philatelic Museum,
Peter Shaw Ashton, Arthur Lee Jacobsen.

Serene Wee has contributed greatly to the spirit of this project, especially with research and interviews.
Felix was incredibly helpful with InDesign

Print in Singapore
Stephen Black
Pretend ISBN

Stephen Black

An American, Stephen Black has lived in Manhattan, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and now Singapore. A multidisciplined artist,
he has created images, videos and text for himself and a variety of audiences. A documentary on the Korean/Japanese Chei
Gwanja was shown at the Pompidou Centre, his work has appeared on for Fox, Fuji TV, France 2, CNN and Cartoon Net-
work and his photographic work has appeared in numerous magazines. He had long collaborated with Sadato, the enigmatic
Tokyo underground musician as well as photographed the world of Japanese dance including Kazuko Ono, the legendary
co-founder of butoh. In 2009 he contributed text and imagery to Michael Lee’s Columbarium of Singaporean Buildings, an
installation at the Singaporean National Museum. Black has a long list of exhibitions, the last being an exhibition at the Arts
House which featured photographs from the book Bus Stopping.
Other books include Obama Search Words ( a documentary/fictional documentary about the President of the United States)
and Furikake, a collection of short stories.

4
A century in the life of a city is “like an evening gone.” What the archaeologist of 2019 will seek to find in the archives of
the Raffles Museum of his day will not be how many dollars we collected and how many we spent, but rather to get an idea
of what sort of a city it was in its younger days.
F.J. Hallifax, formerly President of the Municipal Commissioners, Singapore

from
One Hundred Years of Singapore, a collection of essays and remembrances gathered by Walter Makepeace, Gilbert E. Brooke and Roland St. J.
Braddell. The book consists of two volumes and the stories it contains were voluntary contributions to the Straits Free Press newspaper. Written by
journalists and nonjournalists like, they provide intimate glimpses into Singapore’s first hundred years.

What gunpowder has done for war, the printing press has done for the human mind.
Wendell Phillips, American 1811-1884

“This is a piece of paper white on which we write our word or two and then comes night.”

Henry Miller
The Infinity Chapter: Ink Honesty
From the book BIG SUR and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch

5
Table of Contents
1. Foreword
2. Singapore, an Introduction currently being rewritten
3. Matupa Risingapura {Excerpt from work in progress]
4. Hill St. Blues {Excerpt from work in progress]
5. Sun Yat Sen in Singapore (text follows)
6. The Tamil Poets of Tanjong Pagar see excerpts from page 17 +(Research ongoing)
7. “The Great Singapore Botanical Gardens World War II Printing Story” (working title)
8. ASAS 50 and the printing of the Malay language+(Research ongoing)
9. Raffles Hotel as seen through its print history (Research ongoing)
10. The Letter Writer of Tanjong Pagar
11. The Printed World of the Peranakans (Research ongoing)
12. Fine Art Print Section
13. Tiger Balm, Newspapers and the Roaring Twenties.
14. A Postwar Printshop
15. Chinese Newspapers in the 50s(Research ongoing)
16. The Cyclostyle: pre-Internet
17. Batik: Traditional Cloth Printing
18. The Emergency Pamphlets
19. A Story for Young People: David Marshall and the Green Ink
20. Enmalchin
21. Printing and the Birth of A Nation: One Man’s View
22. Colourful and Active: Mr. Ng Soo Sia
23. An Overview of Early Training Facilities in Singapore by Serene Wee
24. Soon Mah Kit
25. The Sohs
26. Alfred Ang
27. Maps
28. Menus
29. Buses, Billboards and Buildings
30. Print In Action
31. Soo Bin
32. Chris Yap
33. Samuel Chia
34. Photo essay: Foreign Workers in the Singaporean Print Industry
35. A Day With Almond Koh,
36. Tabla and The Good Paper
37. Sustainability
38. How Green is print?
39. Eco friendly printing

6
40. The Singaporean Print Industry: An Economic Analysis
41. Print on Demand
42. Kindle and E-book readers
43. Newspapers Materials
44. E-books
45. 3D printers
46. Printing You Can Eat
47. Inkjet Printed Solar Cells
48. New Ways to Think About Print
49. Postprint basics
50. Preprint Basics
51. Printing Basics
52. Design and Art Direction in regards to Print
53. For the serious hobbyist; Improve Printing of Documents and Photographs
54. A Simple Way to Bind Documents
55. Handmade Books Book Art
56. Scrapbook
57.A Diary Concerning the Creation of this Book
58. Glossary
59. Bibliography

7
 INTRODUCTION
There is an object in the Singapore National Archives which contains the essence of both this book and of Singapore.
The object cost two dollars at the time it was made. It features materials imported from
Europe and Asia and was created by Abdullah Bin Majeed at a Singaporean establishment.
The object is the Colonial Directory of the Straits Settlements for1875, printed at the Mission
Press run by the Reverend Benjamin Peach Keasberry, an Englishman born in India, whose
wife was American. In the directory’s advertising section, are forty-four letters forming eight
words. The last twenty letters comprise four words which summarize the complexity of Sin-
gapore’s existence…
Magregory line of steamers between London and China
The Magregory lines are likely to be worthy of a story. And, surely, a great number of books
could be based on steamships and their impact on Singapore, especially after the opening of
the Suez Canal. But the phrase between London and China is a poetic, information-packed
tsunami of ideas, cultures, characters, geography and countries that not only explains Singapore but continues to influence
the production of countless pieces of printed matter of all types.
Singapore is between London and China.
This was true in the past, this will be true in the future. Singapore’s Constitution is written in English, Chinese, Tamil and
Malay; Tamil and Malay representing cultures also between China and England. Whether we are discussing sports, food, art,
politics, business, history or
fashion, Singapore’s location makes it unique.
As vast, powerful and timeless as the between London and China concept is, there are some concepts even greater.
One of them is printing.

1. Foreword
Singaporeans are very aware of the uniqueness of their small island city-state, whereas the rest of the world often has
only a vague sense of the country, thinking it to be part of someplace else, usually China which is a thousand miles
north.
Printing on the other hand, is a global phenomena and an everyday part of modern life. Yet rarely does it emerge from
behind the scenes.
Print in Singapore sees these facts as opportunities to create a book which is informative and unexpectedly entertain-
ing to both Singaporeans and the world. The Singaporean print industry is an unsung hero with a long list of local and
international accomplishments. These accomplishments are records of both Singapore’s internal struggles and victories,
and the tiny island’s positioning of itself amidst global powers and philosophies.
The great cultures of the world have shaped Singapore. Printers have recorded these changes-and provide us a wealth
of colorful stories.

8
 INTRODUCTION
When we first talked about writing a book on the print industry in Singapore, we were asked why we wanted to do this. Some
thought that this is going to be a daunting task because historical information on the industry will not be easy to come by. It is
not an industry that was well documented. Printers were ‘doers’ not writers and whatever was done, taught or learnt, were done
on-the-job, on the shop floor, information and training were orally handed down and ironically not well print-documented. Un-
doubtedly some form of historical information may be available but would be scattered all over the island and it would require a
lot of research to ferret and sieve out the information we need.
We knew writing this book would not be easy but both of us felt it would be an interesting challenge and a timely one, for us
to chronicle the last 50 years of the print industry. As we talked to people in the industry and learned of their experiences
and their business, we learnt many things that cannot be found in textbooks or in the internet. It is that personal experience
of touching, feeling, molding and making books and allowing the printed material to come alive that makes them the unsung
heroes in our midst.
One of the veterans of the print world shared with us this thought - the printed material is the silent host that greets a visitor to
a country for the first time. If the printed material is good, then the first impression is good. If it is of poor quality, it leaves a
poor first impression. The printed material is the concerted effort of the designer, publisher and printer and the result is what
we hold in our hands, for better or for worse, it is undeniably the first encounter that provides an image of who we are, what we
stand for, what we are capable of, how we see ourselves and the values we cherish, along with other revelations, too numerous
to name.
If this fact alone is not enough to bring out the importance of printers in our lives, consider how the power that be, view the
work of printers in Singapore. No printer can start a business of printing without getting a permit from the Ministry of Home
Affairs, no less. Why? The answer is obvious, the printer has, in his hands, the very tool to allow dissemination of informa-
tion and information is power. He is able to bring to life the pen that is mightier than the sword and he has the ability to allow
the freedom of speech to run amok, if unfettered and unchecked, unleashing the wrath of dissension that may shake the very
foundation of our nation.
In the printing house of the government, the former General Print Office, the Master Printer’s role was seen as important
enough for him to be considered on par with that of a minister’s. His production manager was no less important because
together, they have access to secret documents, from the armed forces, to the treasury, the right to print passports and identity
cards, all of which could easily impact national security if it were not properly handled and governed, regulated and controlled.
Do we ever give a second thought to this group of people who holds the vital information of the nation in their hands?
How many children, in their growing up years, ever proclaim that when they grow up, they want to be printers? If their parents
are printers or own a printing company, perhaps they might inherit the business and follow in their father’s footsteps but seri-
ously, has any child or an adult ever thought of printer as a respected career choice? Today, young people have to be persuaded
and lured/baited to take up a course in printing, with a cash incentive to finish a course of training in printing. To be a printer
is furthest from the minds of our younger generation. It is not a glamourous job and is often not even mentioned in question-
naires that asked children what they want to be when they grow up. They fit somewhere in the ‘Others’ column.
The printer plays a vital role in our society. Every industry needs printing, the printed material, in one form or another, yet he
has, since time immemorial, been overlooked, by and large. We need printers, even in the world of today where electronic tech-
nology allows the storage of information on a medium other than the print and paper, because as long as we need something
in print, a hard copy, a voting slip, a gum wrapper, we need him. Hence, the printer still has a place in our lives, every day and
everywhere and is here to stay.

9
 Singa
2. Singapore, an Introduction currently being rewritten

This will be a timeline , maps showing who ruled Singapore over the years, text and likely a photo or two-
plus the following text-which will be replaced
Location: An island and islets in the heart of Southeast Asia, between Malaysia and Indonesia
Area: 682.7 sq km
Highest point: Bukit Timah Hill at 166m
Climate: Tropical. It’s hot and sunny all year, with two monsoon seasons (December
to March and June to
September) bringing heavy rains
Government: Parliamentary republic
Gross Domestic Product: S$257 billion (Statistics Singapore, 2008)
Major industries: Electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment,
petroleum refining, rub-
ber processing and products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore

10
apore
platform construction, life
sciences, entrepot trade
Currency: Singapore Dollar
Population: 4,839,4000 (Statistics Singapore, 2008)
Median age: 38.4 years
Life expectancy: 81 years
Population growth rate: 1.135%
Ethnic groups: Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, Other races 1.4%
Language: The official language is Malay, but English is the key language of communication. Most Singa-
poreans speak and write a second language, usually Mandarin, Tamil or Malay. Several Chinese and Indian
dialects are also spoken.
Religions: Buddhism 42.5%, Islam 14.9%, Christianity 9.8%, Taoism 8.5%, Catholicism 4.8%, Hinduism
4%, other religions 0.7%, none 14.8% (Statistics Singapore, Census of Population 2000)
Literacy: Over 90% of the population above 15 years of age can read and write
Communications: Excellent facilities and services, including 3G wireless service launched in 2005, and a

11
99.9% broadband penetration rate (Infocomm Development Authority, 2009)
Fixed-line and mobile phone density: 165 telephones per 100 persons (The World Factbook, 2009)
Every day, about five million trips are made on public transport in Singapore. Education Singapore invests heavily in education
because people are its primary resource. Its education system is designed to groom a bright and literate population armed with
skills and talent that are relevant to growing Singapore’s economy and ensuring its survival.
World Ranking
In the World Bank’s annual World Development Report 2009, Singapore was held up as a model of development and “effective
urbanisation”, turning its rural slums into “one of the cleanest and most welcoming cities in the world” in just 40 years.
Among other accolades, Singapore has also been termed a top economic performer, a safe city with low corruption, the best
in Asia for protecting intellectual property rights, and the world’s easiest place to do business.
The Economic Development Board features a comprehensive list of Singapore rankings.
Apart from strides made in the fields of economics and business, Singapore has also been named one of the top cities to live
and play in.
Conde Nast Traveller magazine’s Readers’ Travel Awards placed Singapore at 17th spot in 2008 among cities offering the most
travel satisfaction.
In terms of quality of life, Singapore is tops in Asia and No. 32 in the world, according to the annual Mercer Human
Resource Consulting survey in 2008. Singapore also scores 22nd in Monocle’s list of Top Liveable Cities in 2008. Monocle is
a European-based lifestyle magazine.

12
Matupa Risingapura {Excerpt from work in progress]

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FRASER AND NEAVES AND CONFIRM THEY USED TWO NAMES- FRASER AND
NEAVES and PRINTERS LTD.FRASER NAND NEAVES BOUGHT THE MISSION PRESS From KEASBERRY-a
printer from Raffles time..he ran the Mission press
Then segue into the next text/book
A Code of Bugis Maritime Laws with a translation giving the prononuciation and meaning of each word to which is added
an appendix Singapore Printed at the Mission Press 1832
The Bugis have a Code of Civil and Criminal Law. Similar to that of the Malay undang, but of an older date, and referring to
a state of Government and society of a patriarchal character. The alphabet is readily traceable to Sanscrit, from its order and
sound like several others in the Archipelago; every fourth letter of the first sixteen is supplementary, and seldom to be met
with in native books. For the principal of quality and accent we have only the incontrovertible one- custom.

The work being printed mainly for the sake of gratifying a lover of oriental literature, a vocabulary is added, containing the
pronunciation and explanation.
The captain is King while at Sea and his will is absolute law, from which there is no appeals, but if the Jiro- mudi, Jurobatu
and the whole crew unite without one dissentient voice, they may overrule the Captain. The Juromudi and Jurobataa hold to
the rank of Prime Ministers while on board the Prahu.

The above is an excerpt and a starting point, likely only a fraction of the above will be used

Other important books printed by the Mission Press were the Journal of the Indian Archipelago and eastern Asia and a
steady stream of religious publications. It also printed two newspapers, Tifang Jih Pao(1845)
When the LMS closed the Singapore station in 1846, Keasberry refused to leave, making a passionate and forceful appeal to
the Society to keep one missionary in Singapore. His request was denied, but the LMS gave him a gift of the press and types
which had been used at the mission in Penang, a small lithographic press and some other printing equipment which had
been used in Malacca, as well as an allowance of 50 pounds annually. The rest of the Mission press was shipped to China.
He was the first Protestant missionary to minister successfully to the Malay population. He was fluent in Malay and his
Besides evangelization, the Mission Press, under Keasberry’s guidance, continued as a commercial venture, with the profits
supporting the school and the Keasberry family. Besides religious tracts, the
Mission Press also produced books and pamphlets on natural history and stories for children.

Calendar for the year 1847

Golden Number 5 Dominical Letter C
Epact 14
Solar Cycle 8
The year 5608 of the jewish era commences September 11th.
Ramandau (month of abstinence observed by the Turks) commences on August 13th.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is
bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose

13
our ventures.”when they are missed. Time and tide wait for no man.

Singapore Free Press published on Thursdays, annual Sub 2-40 cents

Every description of printing executed at the STRAITS TIMES PRESS with neatness and despatch. Printer T.Baptist
This is basically it in terms of text that is used as a point of departure…although I need Tamil, Chinese and Malay texts as
well.

Image used without permission (INTERNAL

USE ONLY)
Source: The Passage of Malay Scripts Menjejaki
Tulisan Melayu
National Library

14
4. Hill St. Blues {Excerpt from work in progress]
This cover of the Master Printers’
Association magazine featured
Singapore’s national flower, called
the Vanda Miss Joaquim. Miss Agnes
Joachim was an Armenian who found
the wild orchid hybrid in her backyard.
She is buried in the small cemetery
behind the Armenian Church.

Featured on the cover of the MPA’s magazine for its 70th anniversary was
their old headquarters on Hill St., across from the Armenian Church,
ADD this
Currently looking for stories of any kind related to the old MPH
on the corner of Staunton St and Armenian St. Please contact the
author, Stephen Black at 9272-7814 or email sb@blacksteps.tv

15
Sun Yat Sen in Singapore (text follows)
Sun Yat Sen is the father of Modern China. He formed the Tongmeng hui in 1905 in Japan and one year later, a branch in
Singapore, to campaign for the revolution against the Manchi government of China. He gained support from clan associa-
tions in Japan, Southeast Asia and America. He joined Zhigongtang, a Triad League in Hawaii when he was there to cam-
paign for his political cause. The 1911 Revolution brought an end to the Manchu rule.
He established a reading room on Armenian St. and, while in Singapore, continued to write and print works promoting revo-
lution in China. (Research ongoing)

The Tamil Poets of Tanjong Pagar (Research ongoing)

Sometimes no work , sometimes worked for days. The Tanjong Pagaer Dock company, before it became the Singapore
harbour Board, in 1905 crammed 1, 740 workers into nine sheds. Labourers received about 60 cents per day in 1937. The
rent in the 1940s was $2 to 3$ per month. Abrweakfat sof dosai (Indian pancake) and kopi-o was 5 cents. Ten cents would
be enough to watch A Dick Tracy or Abbott and Costello movie. At the open air cinema in the present container port.
Twenty cents to a tram to Geylang
The Indians lived along Anson Rd., Blair Plain, Deli St., tepah St., Sambau St./ Enggor St,. tras Street and Peck Seah St.
TP had a reputation as a Little India Fresh Muslim arrivals from Kanchu would go to the Maxwell RD. Neil Road junction
where there were familiar faces. The delineation of tamils was further influenced by castes.
Thaiponggal was celebrated on a grand scale and events were even held in far awy Gay World Stadium in Geylang.
Tp has been called the birthplace of poets by many tamils. There were also open-air cinemas advertising for “Solomon” and
Delilah was a stout looking chap entwined with chains paraded down the street….
There was aTamil school the Aurobindo Tamil School at Kampong Bahru. Later it merged with Umar Pullavar Tamil School
on Maxwell Rd.
Tamil population in Tanjong pagar grew as a response to the shortage of Chinese coolies. 1891 there were 282 Tamils, 1912,
in 1901
They concentrated in the Anson area, encompassing Anson Rd., Deli street, Tapah St, Sambau St, Engorr St, Tras Street,
and Peck Seah St. they could also be found on Tanjong pagar Rd.
There were Telugu lightermen who worked mainly for Chinese boat owners. Sikhs were employed as policemen in the Sepoy
Lines and the Singapore Harbor Board.
The Indians in TP in the prewar period were largely a male community with their own temples, schools, religious, social and
cultural activities. Tamils, Telegus, Malayalees, Uttar Pradeshis and Sikhs. The size of the Indian population fluctuated as
many went back to India.

16
“The Great Singapore Botanical Gardens World War II Printing Story” (working title)
Books hold not only the magic of written thoughts, but also the precious white weight of the planet’s second most magical
living things: trees. Trees are made of earth, water and light. They create oxygen.
What is about to unfold is a story about a book about trees, a wartime tale of bravery, despair and the triumph of the hu-
man spirit. The roots of the story begin in the Singapore Botanical Gardens and the jungles of Malaya. The trunk of this
tale is solid with the knowledge of Cambridge yet both greatly scarred and healed by the philosophies of Japan. As the tale
unfolds, the fruits and flowers of humanity appear and fade, all brief and bittersweet; some rotten.
If a filmmaker were to bring our story to life the opening scenes would likely feature books: books being kicked. Books
being burnt. Pages of books being torn to wrap garbage. A dog yelps-once. The dirty hands of looters crack books and
shake them for banknotes. An explosion in a print shop, scattering pages like leaves in a smoke-filled wind. Bullet holes in
Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Handbound leather books support a crude bloodstained butcher’s table upon which an unseen carcass is hacked to pieces.
A dog’s tail drops onto a Bible and is picked up. As these books are being raped we hear the chilling sounds of Singaporean
Chinese men being executed by the Japanese. We fade to total darkness.
As the light returns we hear the sounds of tea being made, The camera pans across a printing shop. We see two men, both
nervous…….(DUE TO SPACE CONSIDERATIONS THE STORY IS NOT PRESENTED IN ITS ENTIRETY…)

ASAS 50 and the printing of the Malay language+(Research ongoing)

Raffles Hotel as seen through its print history (Research ongoing)

Featuring an interview with Roberto Pregarz , the general manager of Raffles from 19xx to 19xx
A legendary hotel and the home away from home for writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Somerset Maugham, Raffles Ho-
tel is a Singaporean institution. In looking at its printed past we can almost touch the royal luxuriousness that attracted the
world’s brightest stars as well as relive the era when hotels were not just for visitors but were showcases where locals could
enjoy the best that life had to offer....

17
The Letter Writer of Tanjong Pagar
Goldie is as tall as twenty-one men. He shovels mountains of coal into thousands of steamers.

Loon Wee can somewhat read and write in English and Chinese. In Tanjong Pagar he reads and writes a few Chinese dia-
lects -it’s his job.

Lin Tui Chian controls an army of coolies. With Loon Wee at his side he gets men for the Australians, tin for the Brits and
rubber and spices for anyone else. His bullock carts are the biggest in town and his oxen never get the plague. If Lin Tui
Chian whispers, the Ghee Hin secret society will make a man disappear.

1851: A British-born Singapore-based Chinese man working for a foreign company in Amoy China is tortured to death.
His body was dressed in work clothes, put in a sedan chair and delivered to his employer’s door. The corpse had been Ch’en
Ch’ing-cheu, founder of the Small Sword Clan, a branch of the Heaven and Earth Society.

1852: Goldie’s brother falls down for the last time. Young boys from the town throw stones at his shape, put black holes
through his shroud of American snow. Co-workers burn his body and put the bones in a jar. A hole is carved in the frozen
earth; in it jars are stacked and covered with pieces of dirt. A pile of stones marks the spot. The railroad builders move on.

Spring 1853: Imperial troops at Amoy drive away the Small Sword rebels. The rebels steal junks and make their way to
Singapore. Instead of the usual eight thousand sinkeh per season, this year there are more than twenty thousand. Loon Wee’s
letter writing business is barely increased but Lin Tui Chian’s army grows much larger.

Yesterday: flowerpot pieces and teeth. The streets are slow with broken glass and blood: it almost still smells like the riot.
Imperial/clan friction in Shanghai had traveled down the coast of Southeast Asia to Duxton Rd. A comment about the cost
of seven pounds of rice burst into ugly armed mobs and dozens of deaths. Even the policemen at Fort Canning were on
alert.

Now, if now is 1853; The Shipping Gazette and the Singapore Free Press are on the table between Lin and Loon. Loon
moves his eyes over them. Lin looks at the newspapers like farmer looks at seeds and rain.
“There’s only one, one from Liverpool that’s bound for Melbourne. March 19, the Eliza. Captain Nobyle. British.”
“A steamer, a schooner or what?”
“ A ship.”
Lin Tui Chian wonders how many British prisoners on the ship died on the way to Singapore. The more Brits that died,
the more space there’d be to fill with coolies. How to make the absolute most money from a situation with both great supply
and great demand?
Loon Wee scans the rest of the paper. Something grabs his eye.
“What is it?”
Loon begins slowly reads aloud a few of the English words in the newspaper, then translates them into Cantonese….
(DUE TO SPACE CONSIDERATIONS THE STORY IS NOT PRESENTED IN ITS ENTIRETY…)

18
11. The Printed World of the Peranakans (Research ongoing)

Fine Art Print Gallery Singapore printmaking association, Tyler Print Institute Featuring
the Singapore printmaking association, Tyler Print Institute and others Heman Chong /Michael Lee-Reading SPUR
at the National Museum, Ghost Story by John Low NUS woodcut of kampong fire incident

19
20
Reading SPUR in the National Museum of Singapore (1965- 1967)
Images used with permission of the artists Heman Chong and Michael Lee.
From the Curating Lab: 100 objects remixed exihibition, curated by Heman
Chong, Ahmad Mashadi and Lim Qinyi
21
 Images used with permission of John Low

22
SINGAPORE PRINTMAKING
ASSOCIATION
-present Singapore and its printing industry to
the world, using the printing industry as a means
of looking at world history, Singaporean history
and technological change. By combining dynamic
journalism with charts, timelines, photos and historical
reproductions the authors present an exciting look at
one of the world’s most important industries and its
relationship with the multicultural, dynamic city-state
of Singapore.

with original research and interviews 23

 SOO BIN TRADITIONAL
BLACK AND WHITE
DARK ROOM PRINTING

(Soo Bin represents the

tradition of black and white
photographic prints. He was the
original photographer for the
Singapore Girl campaign),

24
14. A Postwar Printshop pg 29, 30

My Recollections
By Boey Chee Cheong
Somehow I must persuade myself to get some sleep-at least a few hours-for I know too well how difficult it is to sweat
for eight hours a day without any sleep the previous night. My thoughts begin to wander- to the days when I started as
an apprentice compositor. My father had arranged for me to learn a trade in a Chinese press, a small concern catering for
job printing and without realizing it, I was destined to spend my whole life eking out a living in the printing industry for,
from the day I started my apprenticeship up to the time of my writing this ‘recollection’, I am still employed in the printing
industry and, incidentally, by the same press.
For the first few days I was allowed to ‘roam about’ the workshop and get acquainted with the other workers. After that,
I started to work in the book-binding department and, from them I learned the basic art of book-binding. The various
jobs handled by the book-binding department include padding, hand-numbering, perforating, die cutting etc. There were
some hand-operated machines like the paper cutter, the die cutter and the perforating machine. All these machines had
to be operated by hand because in the 1930’s the presses in Singapore which could boast of automatic or even up-to-date
machinery were very rare indeed.
I thought that working in the book-binding department was quite interesting but during the evenings I would go over to the
composing room and help in the breaking up of printed forms. At that time the majority of Chinese presses remained open
up to 9pm and there was no fixed system of training apprentices. I was therefore able to mix freely with the other employers
in the composing room. Whilst breaking up forms, I
studied the way in which the various forms had been set up and when distributing types I memorized the positions of all the
alphabets in the type. Although complicated, compositing is very interesting and appeals to me very much. After a few weeks
I began to set up simple forms and during this period I suddenly realized that there was a lot to be learned in compositing,
particularly the various ‘furniture’ which make up a form.
Normally, the furniture of the compositing room comprises types and spaces, quads, quotations, “brass rules”(dotted and
plain) and lead. I knew by now that there was some distinct relationship between these furnitures but the vague advice of my
master seemed to be that the art is acquired by judgment and feeling after years of practical work. In a way he was quite right
for there was no school of printing at that time and
the art was mostly passed from the master to the pupil. It seems that the only thing to do is to follow the pattern used
before, but being not quite satisfied with this, I began to try to work out a way in whereby I could do compositing work
more smoothly and perhaps more accurately. This was not easy, for apart from the many sizes of quotations, there were
numerous sizes and quads together with the thickness of spaces which are used for spacing the various sizes of types.
Besides this, there were leads and brass and brass rules to account for. I Tackled the problem stubbornly and, after a few
weeks, I discovered the key to my goal. Thisis one simple word, the ‘point’ (mostly written ‘pt,’) I had learned from my
master that the sizes of types are mostly of the 6 pt., 8pt., 110 tbut bigger types are referred to by the ‘cm’, such as 1 cm,
11/2 cm, 2 cm and so on.
Once that I had answered my questions about pts. and cm., I thought that compositing would be simple but I was wrong
for during the course of my daily work, new problems had to be faced. These problems included enlarging and reducing of
form sizes, cross printing, colour matching, semi-rounding and a host of others.
So much so, I discovered that, before starting a particular job, I found it best to study the form carefully and formulate

25
a plan by which the job can be accomplished with speed and accuracy. I remember one occasion when I was given a job
which calls for a mix of Chinese and English characters and involves the setting up of several blocks of an exact pattern to
facilitate printing. I select this by using the inch-cm.point systems and was very pleased with myself for the job had been well
done.
I must have congratulated myself too soon, for a fresh problem immediately followed: a rather tricky one this time and
having no connection with compositing. The forms which I had set had to be printed with carbonizing ink on the back.
There was no such ink on the market at that time. And I was asked to try and make some. I began to ‘experiment’ with
various ingredients. The aim was to produce some kind of red ink
which would not dry up too soon. It was indeed tiresome work, for, as far as I was concerned, I knew next to nothing about
printing inks other than my slight knowledge of elementary science from when I was at school. However, I continued to
‘experiment’ and, finally, after nearly two weeks, I managed to produce one which consisted of printing ink, was, grease and
oil soluble powder. This ink did not dry up until nearly two weeks but there was no need to worry for the forms were used
up before that and what I had made did serve its purpose. I remember doing another version of carbonizing ink which
lasted for more than a year. It was just after the Japanese Occupation and Singapore was freshly handed back to the British.
The order, some
kind of Pay Roll Sheets, called for hundreds of pounds of black carbonizing ink which would not dry up for long periods
of time. I knew that the one I made for the ban was not suitable, so I ‘experimented’ again and produced a black one made
of black newspaper ink, wax, lard, resin, soot and spirit of turpentine. I mixed the lard, resin and wax together by indirect
heat and then left the mixture to cool. After that, I added the soot, turpentine and ink. I used an improvised ink mixer for
the final process. The one thing which I disliked the most when making carbonized ink was the fact that it is a very dirty job.
Dirty, because the soot flies everywhere and sticks to all parts of my body, The discomfort was of course compensated for I
received a very fat ‘reward’
R-i-n-g, r-i-n-g. What was that? “Wake up, it’s late.” I opened my eyes and to my astonishment, I saw my wife standing beside
me. I looked at the alarm clock-7:30 a.m. I had better rush or be late.

SGPW Golden Jubilee Souvenir Program

26
27
1979–2001
Singapore Printers’
Guild Training Centre
Robertson Quay
M Architects

A nation’s character is defined by the quality of the printed

voice of its people. Long may our comrades of the Printers’
Guild excel in their noble craft.

Goh Seok Wan

Chairman of Communications and Industry Department
Singapore Printers’ Guild Training Centre Opening Ceremony
July 18, 1959
—The above plaque was at the entrance
of the Centre, beneath a mural by noted
painter Tye Cheng Yan

28
29
30
Malaya Ration Card
(Illustration courtesy of Benjamin Seet)

31
15. Chinese Newspapers in the 50s (Research ongoing)

The Cyclostyle: pre-Internet

The Straits Times, 6 July 1928, page 9

Another “Red” Society

Assassination a Permissible Weapon
A Communist organization which has not hitherto been mentioned in the Singapore criminal courts came to light yesterday.
This was the South Seas Anti-Imperialist league, and the name came up in the case heard before the Second Police Magis-
trate yesterday in which two Hylam seamen were charged with being in possession of seditious documents. The men were
arrested by Detective Inspector Sharpe and a party of detectives in a house in Pagoda Street, in which were found two cane
trunks and an attaché case full of seditious documents, a cyclostyle and a quantity of blank paper.
One of the documents purported to have been issued by the South Seas Anti-Imperialist League, with headquarters at Sin-
gapore was in the main a declaration of the objects of the League. These were stated as being the overthrow of the “Impe-
rialists” rule, and the establishment elsewhere of branches for the same purpose. Another document issued by the “Chinese
Party in the South Seas,” described the duties of that organization as follows:-“To instigate a labour struggle. To lead an
unorganized labour struggle into an organised labour struggle. To pay special attention to railway workmen, municipal work-
men (such as tramway, telephone and waterworks coolies)mining coolies, and rubber and wharf coolies, also handicraft men,
shop assistants and employees of foreigners.” The document proceeded to….

32
33
17. Batik: Traditional Cloth Printing

18. The Emergency Pamphlets

One of the more interesting facts discovered by the researchers was that psychological operations played an important part
in the surrender of about half of 431 prisoners interviewed. One of the prime reasons was the continual assurance of good
treatment after surrender and the use of photographs and statements of well-
known terrorist leaders who had defected. It was also found that news stories about Communist military defeats tended to
destroy the confidence of the insurgents.
A Mark 4 RAF Auster disseminating propaganda leaflets.
The use of tactical leaflets combined with attacks by government forces were very successful. In Operations Hawk and
Apollo in Pahang in 1954, the combination of aggression and leafleting was credited with 60% of all the surrenders
including many ‘hard core’ Communist cadre.

A Mark 4 RAF Auster disseminating propaganda leaflets.

34
A propaganda leaflet campaign was conducted, so intensive that for some years, it was estimated that more than 50,000
leaflets were dispersed for each insurgent remaining in the jungle. More than 500 million leaflets of almost 6,000 varieties
were produced over the 12 years - practically all of which have been lost to the unforgiving tropical jungle, with the surviving
pieces in archives or the hands of collectors. Through these
leaflets, we have intimate records of not only the names, but the faces and circumstances of the rank and file of men and
women from the jungle camps. While the history of the Emergency is well documented, there is relatively scant information
about these leaflets, making this article a welcome addition to the literature
Communist Party and to end terrorism.

The use of tactical leaflets combined with attacks by government forces were
Air Despatcher L/C Ken Thomas of 55 coy AD, RASC, throws out
propaganda leaflets over the Malayan jungle in 1958.

Air Despatcher L/C Ken Thomas of 55 coy AD, RASC, throws out
propaganda leaflets over the Malayan jungle in 1958.
(Photographs courtesy of Norman Doctor)

In regard to the preparation of British leaflets, The Falling Leaf, publication of the Psywar Society, Issue 4, 1958, features a
letter from a Malayan PSYOP specialist to a member:
You will not find much change from the specimens sent last year, unless perhaps a slightly greater use of cartoons. We
still concentrate mainly on personal approaches to individual terrorists whose circumstances are known to be unfavorable,
making use of letters from their relatives whenever possible. Numbers 4907 and 5000 are examples of this.
Three sets of leaflets in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, numbers 4580, 4786 and 4900 are a special ‘Merdeka’
(‘Freedom’) offer of very attractive surrender terms valid from September to the end of 1957. Communist Party and to end
terrorism.

The results were so good that the offer was extended to April 1958, and then to 31 July 1958. We dropped 115 million

35
No. 1658C - $500 Reward

36
37
leaflets during 1957. We have dropped 60 million in the first half of 1958. Every book written on the Malayan Emergency
credits C. C. Too with being the mastermind behind the British psychological operations that destroyed the Communist
insurgent movement. Probably the best biography of Too is The Story of a Psy-Warrior, Lim Cheng Leng, Malaysia, 2000.
The author points out that Too was not recognized during the Emergency and it was many years afterwards that he finally
received public recognition. The author describes him as a student:
A clear and fast thinker, with photographic memory, magnetic gaze and oratorical skills.
Every book written on the Malayan Emergency credits C. C. Too with being the mastermind behind the British
psychological operations that destroyed the Communist insurgent movement. Probably the best biography of Too is The
Story

A Story for Young People: David Marshall and the Green Ink
The country of Great Britain once had an empire that was very big. The British ruled places in America, in the Middle
East, in India, in Africa and, of course in Southeast Asia. People said, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.”
When, World War II, the Japanese invaded Singapore, the British did not defend Singapore properly. Many innocent
Singaporeans were killed. Afterwards the people of Singapore felt like the British people did not really care about Singapore.
The Singaporean people wanted to be in control of their own lives. The British did not seem to like this idea.
However, there was much discussion and finally there was an election. Singapore elected a group of people to represent
them in negotiations with the British. David Marshall was elected the Chief Minister and he was part of a team of Singapor-
eans. The team was called a Cabinet.
The Cabinet was sworn in by Chief Justice Charles Murray Murray-Aynsley on April 6, 1955.This happened at the Govern-
ment House, which is now called the Arts House. Right after they were sworn in, they had their first meeting with Governor,
who was Sir John Nicoll. David Marshall and his cabinet were very excited-they were elected to represent Singapore and this
was their first meeting with the British. They were expecting to be treated as equals. They expected Sir John Nicoll to start
the meeting with a traditional and respectful civil opening statement. Sir John had studied at Cambridge an old and respected
British University. He was a representative of the Queen of the British Empire.
“I use red ink,” was the first and only thing Sir John Nicoll said.
Everyone in the room was surprised. No one understood why Sir John Nicoll said this.
“I beg your pardon?” David Marshall said politely.
“I use red ink,” Sir John Nicoll repeated. He did not explain why he said this. He did not explain why he was not being
civil. The people in the room became tense. David Marshall was becoming angry at the rudeness of Sir John Nicoll.
“I beg your pardon?” David Marshall asked again. He was trying to be polite.
“I said I write with red ink”
A man named William Goode was trying to keep the situation calm. He said:
“His Excellency means that in our minutes, the last minute is always in red. And a red minute indicates that it is His Excel-
lency’s final decision. And no one else is allowed to write in red ink.”
“His Excellency” was the official way of referring to Sir John Nicoll.
David Marshall realized that Sir John Nicoll was being very disrespectful. He thought to himself, ” You are trying to tell me
right at the commencement even what ink I can and can’t use. And I need to cooperate with you. Am I going to start a fight
right now? A confrontation, which would be counterproductive?”

38
 Then a member of the Cabinet, EV Davies, suggested that David use green ink.
“ Ah, Mr. Attorney General. I’m grateful to you for reminding me of the delightful colour. Henceforth, I will write with
green ink.”
When David Marshall said those words, it allowed the rest of the meeting to go on without fighting. David Marshall used
green ink until the day he died. For him, green ink symbolized the end of the British rule of Singapore and the beginning of
Singapore’s independence.
We do not know if Sir John Marshal continued to use red ink.

Enmalchin

Ee Tian Hong was one of its most effective exponents. “Where in the past, the Queen’s English was held in awe as the lan-
guage par excellence, as an institution to be revered and even in its everyday uses unimpeachable, Engmalchin implied that
nationalizing the language and literature was an inevitable aspect of the loosening of political allegiance.”
Ee Tian Hong,” Literature and liberation: the price of freedom’, in E Thumboo (ed,), Literature and Liberation: five essays
from Southeast Asia (Manila 1988),pp 11-41

Printing and the Birth of A Nation: One Man’s View

TRANSCRIPT OF SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER

AT THE MASTER PRINTERS ASSOCIATION’S 30TH
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS HELD AT THE
CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON 27TH AUGUST,
1967.

Mr. Chairman and Friends,

I am sorry I did not get here in time to listen to the President’s speech but I have read his speech. I called a meeting of some
the officials concerned to give me the data and the thinking that goes behind the policies we hope to implement.

You do not expect me, on an occasion like this, to tell you exactly what policies there would be-- whether we are going
to have quantitative restrictions on the import of envelopes, calendars, diaries, or whether we will ban or so arrange that
textbooks are printed locally and so on. But I think you ought to know how your own government, dedicated to your
prosperity and the survival of this community, assesses the opportunities. The major premise is very simple. There is
a market, an internal market of 2 million people. Half a million are schoolboys. They each buy between $10 to $15 for
primary schools, $15 to $20 for secondary schools. This includes textbooks, exercise books and so on. And other things like
stationery, packages and advertisement material could be used from local production.

But that doesn’t solve the problem. And this is not the approach of your government. This is a government that is
determined on your behalf to reach out for the stars. If you can show me how, by using the internal market, we can give you
39
a basis upon which, within 5 or even less years, you become competitive internationally, or in Asia and South Asia, then it is
on.

But if you show me how you can continue to live in a thoroughly inefficient, completely unsatisfactory way -- you know,
little old printing presses and shop house or half a shophouse with a staff of about 7 to 8, 10, 12 or 15 -- then I say that is a
waste of time. Because the Economic Development Board knows that all the big modern presses have received more orders
than they can cope with.

This is a fact. They want to print their own annual report and they want high quality, but they only want 2 thousand copies
for external sales for a selective group of people. And the big modern presses are not interested because they are to busy
with bigger orders.

The question, really, is this: with the present norm of your printing press -- you know, 175 members out of a potential of
about 200 licencees, can they survive any way in that form? I will say, first of all, this thing needs study. Before you attack a
problem, identify it. Recognise what your problem is, and having done that then you attack it.
I am not in the printing business and I don’t intend to go into the printing business. And I tell the government printers:
minimum expansion, better farm out. I am quite sure if you farm it out to the man whose livelihood, in terms of dollars and
cents, depends upon efficacy of his machine and his men, it can be done better and cheaper.

And you to say to yourself, “Look, what is it we want to do?” Very simple. Use the internal market in so far as it can provide
a basis to attack the international market. But the objective must be to compete internationally.
You know, Hong Kong feeds its own population of 4 million and competes with the world. Some committee ought to sit
down and study how this thing is done.
What is the norm of the efficient printing press? What types? What do you cater for? You go into commercial printing
business, then you need plastic bags, then you need to print nice things on plastic bags. You have to learn how
to do this.
So the problems can be identified. I do not believe in just putting up tariffs and say, “All right, I protect you,” and let the
inefficient get another spell of life, increasing the burdens on the parents who buy the textbooks and the exercise
books for their children. It is a waste of time. I am not interested in that.
But I am interested also on the other side -- educating the workers. You know, you have a machine capable of producing five
thousand per hour and the worker tells you, “No, no, we produce two thousand per Hour.” I think he has to be re -educated.
He must be. Otherwise we die. And I say, we don’t intend to die. There is an instinct for survival in this place. Whatever else
this place lacks, it has got a very sensitive instinct for survival.
We are exporting books to the Philippines, to Australia and New Zealand.
That is a fact. We are also importing textbooks from Hong Kong, but we should not be, really. If we work out as a comunity
what the potentials are and intelligently use the kind of incentives which will build up the kind of printing industry that
can attack this big market, I think the sky is the limit for us. And so my advice to your Association is this: You have a
government willing and keen to help you, provided you got the right kind of approach to the problems.
If you tell me, “Just put up tariffs, stop buying all textbooks and we will print, “I say, “Well, that is not possible because that
is not the way we are made up temperamentally. Besides, how does that improve the situation?”

40
But if you tell me, “Well, look, as from this year, you can’t impose import duty on textbooks -- that is part of the UNESCO
resolutions -- and there is a danger of somebody running an enormous racket if an institute of publishers decide to
nominate which books should be selected as textbooks, “I say, “But suppose we approach it in a different way, not prompted
by individual greed but collective interests of a whole community: ‘How do we get this cheapest and, in the long run,
mostest for all of us?” And you say, “Right. Now, this is a very good book and we think we ought to recommend this as a
textbook. But we also think that you ought -- instead or printing it in Hong Kong -- to print it in Singapore. “
The Economic Development Board is quite prepared to finance 5 or 6 of our printers together to buy the modern
equipment and slowly build up this kind of enterprise, not for the purpose of just depending on the internal market, but to
give you the kind of take-off to attack an international market. I believe this can be done as in so many other things. You
need to have the spurs stuck on the hinds, then the horse runs; whether it is the owner of the printing press or whether it
is the worker who manipulates the machine. I hope when I meet you again -- I think it is a good idea meeting only once in
5 years -- I will find not individual owners of printing presses, little piddling printing presses, but directors of much bigger
firms. We move with the times and we adjust. As improves his inventiveness and the machines he uses, so the organisation
he has to form to exploit these technological innovations alters. And I do not believe that this community does not have
enough of that adaptability. I think it has enough.

Tonight I meet quite a number of friends whom I have met over the years, 20 years really, who were just printing workers.
There are not many communities who can pride themselves on having risen, over one generation, from worker to
entrepreneur. It takes more than an average of go and drive, dedication and zealousness to produce this transformation from
being a wage- earner to an employer. A community with that ambition, with that urge, can make this transformation. Finally,
I wish you all good fortune, good business, not just high profits but ever-expanding business.

SPEECH BY BRIGADIER-GENERAL (RESERVIST) LEE HSIEN LOONG

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY AND DEFENCE
AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCHING OF THE PRINTING OF
TIME MAGAZ INE AT THE TIMES PRINTERS SDN BHD
ON MONDAY, 11 FEBRUARY 1985 AT 11.00 AM

It gives me great pleasure to join Times Printers in the official launching of the printing of Time Magazine for
circulation in this part of the world.

As a printing and distributing centre for time- sensitive publications in the Asia Pacific area, Singapore has natural
advantages. Globally, it is part of the international network of satellite and cable communications.
Regionally, it is centrally located, with excellent air links to the whole of East and South East Asia. Nationally, the postal and
telecommunication systems are efficient and reliable, and provide a wide and up to date range of services.

As printing technology has developed, these advantages have become more impc.rtant. Printing in Singapore not only means
lower costs, but also quicker delivery. Instead of transporting by air all the way from London or New York thousands of
copies of magazines, or even a bulky set of printing plates, it is nowadays simpler to transmit via satellite link to Singapore a

41
facsimile of the magazine pages, to be printed here and then distributed throughout the region. This mode of operations is
now routine. It was done fot the first time in 1981, by the Asian Wall Street Journal. This was followed by the International
Herald Tribune in 1982, and the Economist in November 1984. Today, Time Magazine will join the list.

42
Colourful and Active: Mr. Ng Soo Sia….(DUE TO SPACE CONSIDERATIONS THE ARTICLE
IS NOT PRESENTED IN ITS ENTIRETY…)

use the images from the MPA magazine the 1864 sequence,, any number can be used or all ALSO feature prominently the
image of the shophouse-jpeg 1.02.03.2009 photos to follow from printers jubilee

It is only fitting that a biography of the Ng Soo Siah begins with a sampling of some of the words he has printed. The
following extract is from the magazine of the Singapore Master Printer’s Association. Mr. Ng was President of the MPA
from 19xx to 19xx as well as from 19xx-19xx.

Being Singaporeans, we are proud and ought to be proud that our republic has overtaken Hong Kong to become the most
competitive country in a group of 10 Newly-Industrialized Economies (NIEs)…The Report was completed before the
outbreak of violence in Tiananmen Square in June this year.
On the plus side and if Singaporeans desire to be lulled into complacency, our small island republic scores equally with
Japan in many competitive criteria, The Report says we even lead Japan in areas such as financial deregulation, intellectual
property protection, and research and development management. We are blessed with political stability and a government
that administers an aggressive policy to attract foreign investment. Our other key success factors include our low level of
inflation, unemployment and interest rates as well as “one of the world’s best motivated and highly skilled labour forces”…

We need to be adventurous and fast to remain competitive and a force to be reckoned with respect by the world business
community. We must accelerate in our efforts in product innovation and product introduction.
Ethnically we are Asians, geographically we are in Asia and economically we are a very obvious unit in the powerhouse
economies of the Pacific Rim. Singapore, a miniature united nations, is strategically located at the crossroads of the world-
this is one area even mighty economic giant Japan loses out to Singapore. …
Singapore may be a small tropical island of only 625 square kilometers, excluding 57 smaller islets, lying just 1o north of the
Equator but it is the world’s busiest port. Its massive banking system is one of the world’s key financial centres….
The Singapore Government also provides tax incentives for original inventions and innovations. Singaporean industrialists,
though, must not only be happy being assisted in our competitiveness by this bagful of backups, we must harmonise with
the vibrations of the global consumers, we must be creative and forceful in product innovation and product introduction.
We must not rest now that Singapore has overtaken Hong Kong to become the moist competitive country

43
An Overview of Early Training Facilities in Singapore by Serene Wee
With the birth of the new Singapore, it was even more critical that the country beefed up the one and only natural resource
- people, with brain power to fuel the nation and move her out of the shadows of the past and propel her into the future,
with the rest of the developed world. The Prime Minister said in his interview
during a press on 9 August,1965 that the ‘…pride and the stamina of the citizens of Singapore…(will ensure her survival
because) we intend to survive.’ With these words, a nation was born.
As one of the first steps to take in building a nation is to develop her people through education and training, it was
important to set up infrastructure and resources to make this happen. The corollary was to set up the Adult Education
Board (AEB). The Government was aware that literacy rate then was low and the adult
population needed help for training and education. But even before the AEB was set up in Stirling Road, there were already
plans to set up a School of Printing for the printing industry as it was the most progressive sector at that time. In a sense,
the School of Printing preceded AEB.
School of Printing
The printing industry in Singapore is one of the oldest and the demand for skilled printers dated back to the early sixties,
after the Peoples Action Party came into power. The first batch of trainees were sent overseas in the early 60s (see Annex A
for list of trainees and the countries they were sent to for training). Upon their
return, they were roped in to start the School of Printing.
The School of Printing was set up with the help of the German Association of Print Machinery and Equipment. They
provided German machinery, equipment, expertise and the curriculum, adapted for use in Singapore, in the setting up of the
school. The first principal of the school came from the Ministry of Education.
However, when the Germans left, the School of Printing became the Department of Printing, under the Baharuddin
Vocational Institute which was set up in 1968. The principal of the school became the department head. The department
inherited equipment, machinery and expertise left behind by the Germans.

Vocational & Industrial Training Board

In 1974, the Vocational & Industrial Training Board (VITB) officially launched the system of certification for semi-skilled
workers. The result was the National Trade Certificate Grade Three or NTC-3. The trainees for this programme took a
year to complete with an examination in both theory and practical subjects. The courses offered then were Offset Printing,
Binding & Finishing, Composing, Letterpress Printing,
Reproduction Photography and Offset Plate-Making.
The Master Printers Association was approached to assist in drawing up the course programmes at one point, but due
lack of human resource at the association, the VITB was left to go it alone (see Annex B on the Apprenticeship Training
Schemes for the Printing Industry )
What can an apprentice do after his training?
An NTC-3 apprentice, after training, would be able to load paper, set the feeder and dampeners, install plate and rubber
blankets, and printing of multi-colour process work on single-colour offset sheetfed press.
He would also be a useful print assistant on the mult-colour press.
An NTC-2 apprentice, at the end of his 3rd year of training would be capable of operating the press alone, print a 4 colour
press work on a 2 colour A1 size offset press.

44
A Graphics Reproduction apprentice would completed 4 modules of training at the end of the one year would be able to
shoot and process half-tone work, strip and assemble negatives and positives, prepare layouts and flats, expose, develop and
condition positive and negative offset plates ready for printing.
The same Graphics Reproduction apprentice at the end of the third year will be able to do colour-separation and film
planning.

Rapid changes of Technology

Rapid technological changes rendered most of these courses obsolete and demanded upgrading of training.
Between 1982 to 1983, the VITB revived the courses in printing at the cost of $4.6 million. Fourteen new presses (8
2-colour A1 size and 6 single-colour) were purchased. The number of workshops was increased from 1 to 3, with better
qualified personnel who were sent overseas for training in the latest technology (see
Annex 3 for the Course Outline).
Printers who wish to participate in the scheme for training must have the facilities and equipment to provide the apprentices
with on-the-job (OTJ) training. Apprenticeship Officers of the VITB assisted the printers in drawing up OTJ programmes
and in recruiting apprentices.
The apprentices who signed up for training were recruited immediately as personnel of the printers and started work
immediately. During the three year training period, the apprentice would then sign a bond with the printing company they
worked for.
Their institutional training however, only commenced at the next intake exercise in accordance with the terms of VITB.
During the apprenticeship period, the training was closely monitored by the Apprenticeship Officers. The nature of the job
required OTJ training in the printing trades which meant that NTC-2 courses were conducted on an 8-hour day-release basis,
under the classification of apprentices. While the trainees receive OTJ training at work, they were also released to attend
classes at VITB. At this juncture, the NTC-2 certificate was launched for skilled workers and on successful completion, the
apprentice received the NTC-2 qualification which certified that he has reached the standard of a skilled worker as well as
the Certificate of Completion of the Apprenticeship endorsed by the VITB.
A minimum requirement for entry to the training programme was also defined by the VITB. From 1985, only those who
have completed the GCE ‘N’ examinations were admitted to do the training. There were of course applicants who had GCE
‘O’ level qualifications and to attract better school leavers and reservists into the training programme in the printing industry,
it was also necessary to review apprenticeship wages, among other things. The aim was to attract more and more of the
academically better and more proficient apprentice.
The 1980s saw the rapid growth of the printing industry and it was at its peak, gaining increasing respect for the excellent
services rendered to the international market, the high standard and the quality of work produced. Printing was considered
the top ten industry in Singapore then. By late 1980s, things were sent via satellite and it was the beginning of a new era
using computer and communications technology.
Training therefore, must continue and the approved training centres set up in the mid 80s was one resultant effort to answer
the needs for skilled workers in the industry.
The Approved Training Centre
Some years later, Approved Training Centre (ATC) programme was set up at the printing companies. The first batch started
with Tien Wah Press Pte Ltd set it up in 1986. Later this was followed by The Singapore National Printers in 1987, the
Singapore Newspaper Services Pte Ltd and Scantrans Pte Ltd in 1989.

45
The printing industry found that these worked very well for them and soon, more printers followed suit and adopted the
ATC programmes within their organization to provide apprenticeship programme for their own employees. These centres
employed their own instructors and with a Singapore Development Fund (SDF) Training Grant, they conducted the NTC-3
and NTC-2 courses in printing and graphic reproduction
in-house. The curriculum mirrored that of VITB and the board monitors the running of the centres. Final examinations
and certificate of these trainees naturally came under the purview of VITB. With the success of the NTC-2 and NTC-3
programmes, talks were underway for an NTC-1 level of training that will provide the highest level of workmanship to the
industry, providing possibly graduate level courses.

Institute of Printing
When the printers themselves started offering in-house training with the ATC, the VITB lost some of their trainees to these
centres. However, the rest of the industry still needed training and in 1985, the Institute of Printing (IOP) was born. It was
registered as a society and affiliated to the Institute of Printing in the UK.
Their members included those from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia and China. In Singapore, it had 100
members with 50 from around the region. Membership was £100. Unfortunately, the IOP in the UK later offered the same
membership to other S. E. Asian countries despite an earlier exclusive clause and
as a result, IOP Singapore broke away in 1996.
While IOP training courses were in operation, it ran classes with about 12 students per course and about 100 students per
year. It was conducted as a once a week class, and each course duration was 3 years. The course fee then was around S$4,000
per student. IOP, as a society, also organize seminars and print magazines.
These courses were popular and the institute began to gain popularity as the training institute for the printing industry.
Unfortunately things began to take a turn when the management of the Institute changed hands.
The number of trainees signing up for these courses dropped and about three years ago, the institute stopped conducting
courses for the industry.
SCI Print Technology Institute
After IOP print courses were suspended, there was a need for another training school to take over the role of training
printers. This gave rise to the birth of SCI Print Technology Institute (SCI).
According to the current principal of the school, Mr Almond Ko, he was approached by SPRING Singapore, the custodian
of the printing industry to consider setting up a school to train a force of skilled print professionals.
SCI offers a National Institute of Technical Education Certificate (NITEC) full-time one-year course in current prepress
theory, techniques and technology. The specialised programme focuses on the latest digital technologies in the area of
prepress. The programme also offers skills upgrading opportunities for mature
print technicians as advances in computer software and print technology continue to change the requirements of prepress.
By the end of the 80s, at least 1,500 trainees graduated from the School of Printing, the IOP and ATC. The printing
industry then, employed about 14,500 workers, giving it a ratio of about 1:10. In other words, one of every 10 workers in
a printing company would have had formal training in printing. Out of these, those who are concerned with the technical
aspects of printing would reduce the figure to 1:5 ratio. This meant that the workforce in the printing industry has the
most trained workers in Singapore compared to all the other industries. However, figures alone do not tell the right picture
because many who have gone through the training may have moved to non-technical positions or even have left the industry.
However, after some years of running printing courses, the IOP began to have problems internally.

46
The owners of the printing presses of those early years would say that they did not have enough trained workers despite this
effort to provide training to as many in the industry as possible. One reason is that rapid technological changes rendered
previous training obsolete and workers have to be constantly upgraded and re-trained in order to catch up with the advances
in the industry.
In a nutshell, training of printers in 70’s were devoted to the development and the consolidation of the NTC-3 courses.
The next decade saw the introduction of NTC-2 programmes and as a natural progression, the next step would be the
NTC-1 or Master Craftsman Certification. With that, it would complete a comprehensive range of courses for printers,
covering semi-skilled, skilled and advanced levels of training. With these training available, it made Singapore one of the
few countries in Asia with a completely structured programme of training for the printing industry in the last decade of the
last century. This also changed the image of the printer from one where it was seen as a trade where you need to get hands
soiled to earn a living to one that has slowly gained recognition as a respectable job.

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49
Soon Mah Kit
“There were no uniforms, but we had to wear white overcoats. The school also had a domestic science section and there
they wore pink overcoats. They taught butchery and my god! I swear the eyebrows on the instructor were just like hairy
chalkboard erasers! Slaughtering animals. Those teachers looked like killers.”
Soon Mah Kit is reliving his days in Liseaux, a small village in Normandy northwest of Paris. He went there in 1967 on a
government bond to study bookbinding. Now, fortysome years later, he is the “commander” of a family run bookbinding
business. His wife Mary is the operations manager and his two sons develop business opportunities, oversee production and
monitor quality control. The factory is filled with the different rhythms of different types of books being bound. A few
friendly dogs lie beneath the palm trees outside.
Here in Mr. Soon’s office, however, it is quiet. He also learned painting in Liseaux and we’re sitting beneath portraits of
Singaporean, Japanese and Malaysian prime ministers as well as one of Condoleeza Rice with a group of young smiling
Chinese girls. Ganush the elephant god is also on the wall. Mr. Soon is an artist.
I know little about binding and ask if he has a favorite.
“Round and back case books” he replies immediately. He leaps from his desk and pulls a book from a shelf. His hands move
over every millimeter of the cover-the front, the back and the spine. “Feel that,” he says.” Happiness; this is joy.”
I am cynical; thinking that he sounds “too French”, or is trying to hype his product. He hands it to me. I feel this
book like I am feeling a book for the first time. The book is buoyant. A sculpture of restraint and freedom with corners
simultaneously sharp and soft. I am no longer holding a book: I am holding an exquisitely simple musical instrument, one
that can only produce the silent drone of reading pleasure.

PORTRAIT TO FOLLOW
25. The Sohs ... Three generations of printers

51
 passport, photos and story to be added

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Alfred Ang
The managing director of COS, Mr. Alfred Ang, is opinionated and direct.
” A lot of people don’t like me. I cannot contain what I say; I speak my mind,” he says early in our interview. And he does
speak his mind. Of a certain group he says: “They know very little about the realities of the printing business. They are text-
book people.”
Mr. Ang is also Managing Director of the Print and Media Association Singapore, an organization with a long and colorful
history. They too get a frank appraisal: “Years ago the PMAS was a bit of an old boy’s club. Things have changed, but it is
still tough to get the members to stop being selfish and act collectively.” The directness of Mr. Ang is not mean-spirited-it’s
just his gut reaction to things which are not as they should be. “ I’m not afraid to be vocal because it is not for my personal
benefit.”
At different times Mr. Ang repeats that he has been lucky, or “been in the right place at the right time.” He says that not
being greedy has resulted in a smooth and successful business. “We should all help people without expectations.”
Trusting his gut reaction has been a part of his company’s success. Mr. Ang started just before computers revolutionized
society. He began by selling magnetic tapes and punchcards, hence the name COS: Computer Office Supplies.
The company has shifted offices six times since 1973 and nearly every change in office corresponded with a change in
printing technology. The company has survived three recessions and held strong against the economic tsunami of 2009.
The” gut reaction policy” has been successful: COS has grown from one small office to a plant of 60,000-square feet with a
staff of 75.
Mr. Ang is of the generation that lived through the pre and post Independence events, his life parallels the third world to
first world rise of Singapore. His father was a paper salesman and I am sure the frank and candid Mr. Ang has many stories
to share about growing up in Singapore. But first, I want to learn more about the start of COS.
“I was flying to Philadelphia and in those days we had to stop over and spend a night in Hong Kong. So I was in the lobby
and by chance struck up a conversation with a Shanghainese who worked for Memorex. He took me around the corner to a
Suzy Wong bar…
“I’m sorry, a Suzy Wong bar?’
“Yes. Suzy Wong. A topless bar.”
“Oh. Is it Ok to mention that?”
“Sure go ahead, doesn’t hurt anybody. So we came back and by the end of the night I ordered three thousand pieces for $6
dollars. Within a short while I had sold all of them for $18 each.
….(DUE TO SPACE CONSIDERATIONS THE ARTICLE IS NOT PRESENTED IN ITS ENTIRETY…)

53
Maps For demonstration purposes only

54
Menus many more being sourced

55
Buses, Billboards and Buildings

56
Print In Action

57
Chris Yap
Inspiration. Process. Print. Post-print. As both a master fine art printer and a photographer, Chris Yap expresses himself
through these methodologies. He began perfecting his craft during the “bridge years”, the time when the dominance of film-
based photography gradually gave way to digital imagery. As a child he used to watch his two uncles work as professional
photographers. Years later, he entered the workforce as a partner in a retail photo shop, working in both black and white and
colour. Eventually, he felt the urge to move on, to learn more. He wanted to see the world. New York was the place to be, he
decided-and off he went, with dreams of becoming a fashion photographer.

New York challenged him. He had visa issues and difficulties in finding a place to stay. He was robbed. In terms of
photography and photographic prints, it was a wake-up call. ”One day I finally found myself in the Elle magazine head
office. I was blown away by what I saw hanging on the walls and beat a hasty retreat. It was a humbling but valuable
experience.” Chris immersed himself in Manhattan’s photographic world. He gained working knowledge about the
technical and aesthetic differences between Asia and America. He saw the digital world being born. These experiences
proved valuable when he returned home.

In 1995, he became part of the first digital lab set up in Singapore. He worked on ways to digitally archive film and created
a pioneering system of digital archival management. A customized version of this system was later used by the National
Archives to process over one million images.

Chris began to share his knowledge. He became an Adjunct Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University as well as an
instructor for Objectifs, a centre for photography and film-making. A manufacturer of printing machines gave him the
opportunity to showcase some of his large scale artworks. These pieces went on to be exhibited in Singapore’s first Biennale.
Chris also curates and organizes exhibitions. He prefers his prints to be as large as possible and once composed an image
which covered the wall of a very large house. For Chris, the four methodologies of the print-making process are a union of
science and philosophy, what he calls “hardware and heart ware.”

58
Samuel Chia
At the time this book project began, Samuel Chia had a growing base of customers for his fine art printing services. His
work had found its way to Tokyo, Paris and New York, as well as local galleries and the homes of Asian collectors. Samuel’s
personal work-landscape photography- had led to discussions with book publishers and government agencies. Samuel was
18 years old.
Now he is in the National Service, Singapore’s compulsory two year military service for men.
National Service will likely have no effect on Samuel’s school plans. He had stopped going to junior college as he felt self-
study was more suited to his needs. The internet became a school where studied blogs and websites. He followed forums
devoted to printing and eventually he was not only asking questions, but was contributing information based on his own
tests and experiences. He wrote to paper manufacturers, ink jet nozzle technicians and even copyright experts. His long list
of internet bookmarks is a collection of wikis, printers’ technical sites, video how-tos, printing software guides and digital
photography ebooks.
Samuel’s technical knowledge is complemented with a great interest in visual art. He owns shelves of beautifully printed
books and sees as many exhibitions as he possibly can. He can speak at length about the relationship between printing and
photography and how it shapes a personal vision. With the feeling of an artist, he can measure and calibrate lights and inks.
He has an intuitive feeling for things like colour temperature and the varying whitenesses of paper. He is consumed with
getting things right, “enhancing natural colors, but not overly manipulating them.” Samuel’s prints are beautiful.
After NS, Samuel will return to his family’s HDB flat and resume printing. He’ll continue documenting what is left of the
Singaporean wilderness. He also wants to work with others who are passionate about print. Samuel talks seriously about
creating a new visual style, a style in tune with the age of digital printing; a Singaporean style.

59
34. Photo essay: Foreign Workers in the Singaporean Print Industry
35. A Day With Almond Koh, Printer and CEO of the SCI Print
Institute… on the go in Singapore!
TEXT TO FOLLOW

60
The Good Paper
In 2009 newspapers around the world were dying. In Singapore, the Chinese, Engkish, Malay and Tamil dailies seemed
stable, but the country itself was in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the country began. Against this stormy
backdrop, the Good Paper, a free bi-monthly, bilingual publication began.
Ling Seow, the editor explains simply,” I was sick and tired of reading things which were negative. I wanted to make a stand;
I wanted to share good news.”
The paper is written, produced and distributed entirely by volunteers. There is no advertising in the paper and each edition
consists of 30, 000 copies which Ling Seow hopes are passed on from reader to reader.
The Good Paper is printed by Singapore Press Holdings and is the same size as another free bilingual paper, My Paper,
which is free on weekdays. In terms of economy and productivity, this is a classic case of efficient machine utilization-the
press is designed for high capacity newsprint and although only 30,000 copies of the Good Paper are printed-versus the x00,
000 of My Paper, the standardization means a minimum of pre-press time.
From another viewpoint it is fascinating to see one printing press creating two very different impressions of Singapore.

The first edition was of 25,000 copies, the second edition was 50,000. The paper was distributed by over 100 volunteers.
Volunteers also contribute stories and artwork. The stories are all full of good news- volunteer activities are showcased or
promoted, travel experiences are shared and ecological issues and solutions are
highlighted

Tabla
Tabla! is aimed at the Indian diaspora with
30,000 copies being given out free each
Friday. It is available at all 7-Eleven outlets.

The tabloid has extensive coverage of

everything.

Indian, from politics to sports to Bollywood

and Kollywood celebrities. It also provides
local news to the growing community of
expatriate Indians here, such as stories on
education, property and transport.

The paper is named after the popular two-

piece Indian percussion instrument and
is published by the Tamil daily newspaper
Tamil Murasu.

61
Sustainability (the following are internal notes only)
Mention Paperlinx
Pro recycling is a German initiative of 21 big companies trying to promote the use and acceptance of recycled paper. They
have joined forces in order to combine the influence they have as large producers, users or processors of paper. Oce was
one of the founders.
1958 Oce develops a production process for coating paper in such away 80% of the solvents could be recovered.
1990 Oce opens an asset recovery plant.
2004 Oce is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index
From Oce; Focal points 2007
1. Minimize incorrect and unnecessary prints
2. Minimize energy consumption per print
3. Maximize reuse of materials and minimize non-reusable waste
4. Minimize emissions of ozone, dust and toner
5 Increase attractiveness as an employer for talented employees
Sustainability dilemma Oce Sustainability report 2007
“ Oce earns a large part of its turnover from the presentation of images on paper. The increasing use of paper is in itself
not sustainable due to its negative impact on the use of energy, raw materials and water. It is therefore of paramount
importance to redefine the notion of ‘document’ as not principally being print on paper, and also to adapt business
processes to the use of electronic documents.
ISO compliance

38. How Green is print?

Eco friendly printing

These notes are based on a Straits Times article and are meant for internal notes only.
Biodegradable food containers
Ten years ago Mr. Leonard Lau came up with a design for paper take away containers that could hold everything from fried
chicken to prawn noodle soup. He wanted a replacement for the foam containers.
Mr. Lauis the managing director for Microwave Packaging
“Most of the containers which we use are made of plastics which are not biodegradable
He uses waterproof paper usually found in milk cartons and packet drinks His container is patented.
It took the 51 year old three years because he had to first make the machine to make the containers.
One of four winners of a contest sponsored by the Singapore Environmental Council The Oscars for those who want
to go green. “The private sector is a key player in Singapore’s national conservation effort.” Said Minister for National
development Mah Bow Tan

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The Singaporean Print Industry: An Economic Analysis

41. Print on Demand text/images used for reference only IP issues not finalized
42. Kindle and E-book readers text/image used for reference only IP issues not finalized pg
68 A
43. Newspapers Materials text/imge used for reference only IP issues not finalized pg 66 A
44. E-books text/image used for reference only IP issues not finalized pg 66, 67 B also
page 68,69 B
45. 3D printers text/image used for reference only IP issues not finalized pg 67 C

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46. Printing You Can Eat text/image used for reference only IP issues not finalized pg 74

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47. Inkjet Printed Solar Cells image supplied by imaging technology international
corporation

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48. New Ways to Think About Print text/image used for reference only IP issues not
finalized
According to Mathew Tan, managing Director of the Print Lodge Pte. Ltd. As quoted in the Institute of Printing Newsletter
“What we are essentially doing is supply training. Our industry may be working hard to train new workers and get the skills
of the existing workers upgraded, but all that good intention can also lead to an increase of supply in the print market. An
equally pertinent problem facing our industry is a lack of demand, and unless we can handle that as well, related problems
such as price undercutting and falling profit margins will always be present. The question, therefore is, are we training the
right people?”
We need to be educating print buyers, not just the print sellers alone. If we offer such demand training, for our clients,
demands will increase and so will supply. By understanding each other’s outlook, both sides will benefit from faster
turnaround, less rejection and higher quality work. When that happens, the whole image of the industry will be improved.”
Mathew believes that the costs of dealing with inexperienced print buyers and deliberate misinformation by print buyers are
high.
Mathew’s solutions:
1.Print buyers need to be more aware of the possibilities and limitations of print-the pros and the cons, characteristics of
paper and board, how to specify finishing effects, and more importantly, things that can go wrong.
At present, print buyers are not fully educated on what can and cannot be done with offset printing. THE CREATIVE
SIDE OFTEN BEMOAN THE LACK OF TECHNOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION ON THE
PART OF THE PRINTERS. On the other side, printers have been known to complain about designers lack of knowledge
of the print process and gripe about how they will design jobs that cannot be physically printed.
Offset printing, when combined with the right machinery and skills, can produce some amazing results that can help clients
send the right message out. Unfortunately, printing companies often rely on their salespeople to sell their services. Their
sales team may be good at closing sales, but they may not be the best people to
explain the technology behind what is possible through offset printing to the print buyers.
This is ironic as what printers are basically selling are machine capabilities.
Sales people make big promises….
Mathew also suggests training the entire team…writers, editors, prepress technicians and graphic designers
Mathew would like to send them for technical training as well….
Mathew hopes that the government will support a more streamlined training program that will educate as many nontechnical
people as possible, even those in managerial positions. ”of course the desired goal is a better informed customer, Helping
customers with training must be seen as a sales opportunity for printers and publishers.
At the end of the day…most print buyers still have a scant idea of what is possible with print. With the rise of other forms
of digital media such as electronic books, CDs and DVDs, a number of content authors are switching to these alternative
media for greater flexibility and comparatively lower costs of production or distribution. However, it is without a doubt
that printed media is still used for a wide range of applications and carries its certain sense of appeal that alternative media
cannot match. If that remains the case, then training print buyers to see the merits of print will definitely pay.

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49. Postprint basics
50. Preprint Basics
51. Printing Basics
52. Design and Art Direction in regards to Print
53. For the serious hobbyist; Improve Printing of Documents and Photographs
54. A Simple Way to Bind Documents
55. Handmade Books Book Art

56. Scrapbook
57. A Diary Concerning the Creation of this Book
58. Glossary
59. Bibliography

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Industrial art showcase

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New stories are being added constantly especially those
about interesting people, companies and techniques.
If you have an interesting print-related story, please
contact Stephen Black
blacksteps@gmail.com

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