His premise was that informational print was essential reading for the specialists concerned and needed to be inexpensive and did not require the elegance, subtleties, and sophistication of traditional typesetting; whereas persuasive printing did need to entice attention from casual browsers.

Much the same arguments were repeated when desktop publishing (DTP) entered the graphics arts and frequently offered settings that fell short of prevailing professional standards. That technological gap was quickly closed, though the lack of training in DTP operators still sometimes betrays the origin.

With the emergence of the Internet, I note again that the experts (like the estimable Andy Tribute) are rightly making the distinction that informational texts are particularly suited to electronic delivery, but leisure and recreational material may be less apposite. History really does repeat itself, if in different phraseology and context.

Lawrence Wallis held international pre-press marketing positions and was a respected author and print historian.