Multilanguage Electronic Phototypesetting System
Encyclopedia
Multilanguage Electronic Phototypesetting System (MEPS) is a system for offset printing
in a variety of languages and character sets. The system, completed in 1986, was designed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has printed Bible literature in various languages. Before MEPS there was no system available for printing in all languages, due largely to the economies of many countries where production of literature in their languages was not financially viable. The creation of the MEPS program, which is capable of correctly laying out different languages with different character sets, was created with this problem in mind. The program was designed based on responses from the organization's own translators about each language.
, New York
were upgraded from letterpress printing
to lithographic
offset presses (later replaced by the faster photolithographic
process.) A decision was made in 1979 for the Society to create its own phototypesetting system rather than relying on commercial equipment. In the same year, Witnesses at Watchtower Farms, Wallkill, New York, began designing and constructing the necessary phototypesetters, computers and terminals, in addition to the MEPS software. The system was completed by May 1986, allowing more efficient publication of their literature in dozens of languages, with a small selection available in over 500 languages. As of 2011, the MEPS system is used to publish monthly articles of The Watchtower for congregational study simultaneously in 188 languages.
An earlier solution to the problem of requiring multilanguage printing was the IPS
project; IPS and MEPS were developed at the same time, MEPS being intended as a longer-term project to supersede IPS once it had been completed and fully developed.
Article text is entered on MEPS workstations, composed of a familiar but enlarged typewriter keyboard and a monitor approximately the size of a page from The Watchtower
. The keyboard contains a 16-bit microcomputer to control the 182 keys. Draft printing can be sent from the workstation directly to a lineprinter for editorial review or proofreading.
Each key has five shift levels that provide the equivalent of 910 keys to represent commands, characters or combination commands. For complex character sets, MEPS automatically determines, by the position of each character's position in a word or sentence, the correct way to write it, simplifying text entry. For example, a standard Arabic linotype
must have different keys for all variations of the 22 Arabic letters in four different forms. By comparison, MEPS requires only one keystroke for each Arabic letter. The equipment's simplicity of design enables people familiar with typing and composition procedures only about two weeks to become proficient both at text entry and page composition.
After a publication has been composed on the display terminal, it is transferred to the MEPS phototypesetter. The phototypesetter produces an image on photographic paper, using a narrow beam of light, in a manner similar to the operation of a cathode ray tube
in a television
set. After the photographic paper is processed, it is photographed to produce film that, in turn, is used to make offset printing plates.
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
in a variety of languages and character sets. The system, completed in 1986, was designed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses
A number of corporations are in use by Jehovah's Witnesses. They publish literature and perform other operational and administrative functions, representing the interests of the religious organization...
.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has printed Bible literature in various languages. Before MEPS there was no system available for printing in all languages, due largely to the economies of many countries where production of literature in their languages was not financially viable. The creation of the MEPS program, which is capable of correctly laying out different languages with different character sets, was created with this problem in mind. The program was designed based on responses from the organization's own translators about each language.
History
In January 1978, printing operations at the Watch Tower Society's headquarters in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
were upgraded from letterpress printing
Letterpress printing
Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image...
to lithographic
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
offset presses (later replaced by the faster photolithographic
Photolithography
Photolithography is a process used in microfabrication to selectively remove parts of a thin film or the bulk of a substrate. It uses light to transfer a geometric pattern from a photomask to a light-sensitive chemical "photoresist", or simply "resist," on the substrate...
process.) A decision was made in 1979 for the Society to create its own phototypesetting system rather than relying on commercial equipment. In the same year, Witnesses at Watchtower Farms, Wallkill, New York, began designing and constructing the necessary phototypesetters, computers and terminals, in addition to the MEPS software. The system was completed by May 1986, allowing more efficient publication of their literature in dozens of languages, with a small selection available in over 500 languages. As of 2011, the MEPS system is used to publish monthly articles of The Watchtower for congregational study simultaneously in 188 languages.
An earlier solution to the problem of requiring multilanguage printing was the IPS
Integrated Publishing System
Integrated Publishing System is a system created in 1982 for publishing multilingual literature. It was designed to run on an IBM mainframe computer using an Autologic typesetter....
project; IPS and MEPS were developed at the same time, MEPS being intended as a longer-term project to supersede IPS once it had been completed and fully developed.
Usage
The core of the system is the MEPS computer, housed within a compact frame approximately 1016 millimetres (40 in) high, 914 millimetres (36 in) wide and 864 millimetres (34 in) deep. Most of the principal equipment, including circuitry, was built by Jehovah's Witnesses.Article text is entered on MEPS workstations, composed of a familiar but enlarged typewriter keyboard and a monitor approximately the size of a page from The Watchtower
The Watchtower
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom is an illustrated religious magazine, published semi-monthly in 194 languages by Jehovah's Witnesses via the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and printed in various branch offices around the world...
. The keyboard contains a 16-bit microcomputer to control the 182 keys. Draft printing can be sent from the workstation directly to a lineprinter for editorial review or proofreading.
Each key has five shift levels that provide the equivalent of 910 keys to represent commands, characters or combination commands. For complex character sets, MEPS automatically determines, by the position of each character's position in a word or sentence, the correct way to write it, simplifying text entry. For example, a standard Arabic linotype
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
must have different keys for all variations of the 22 Arabic letters in four different forms. By comparison, MEPS requires only one keystroke for each Arabic letter. The equipment's simplicity of design enables people familiar with typing and composition procedures only about two weeks to become proficient both at text entry and page composition.
After a publication has been composed on the display terminal, it is transferred to the MEPS phototypesetter. The phototypesetter produces an image on photographic paper, using a narrow beam of light, in a manner similar to the operation of a cathode ray tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
in a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
set. After the photographic paper is processed, it is photographed to produce film that, in turn, is used to make offset printing plates.