Leeds nostalgia: First colour used on Yorkshire Post in June 1971

On June 29, 1971, the first colour pages were used 'live and at speed' in the Yorkshire Post.
First Editorial colour used live and at speed. Yorkshire Post, June 29th 1971First Editorial colour used live and at speed. Yorkshire Post, June 29th 1971
First Editorial colour used live and at speed. Yorkshire Post, June 29th 1971

The way newspapers were produced then was a far cry from how they are today.

Nigel Hudson began working for the Yorkshire Post in 1963 and by 1967 he was working nights in the stereo department, where they made lead plates before sending them to the printing presses. Now retired, he recalled: “When colour was introduced, it meant you had four different colours: black, magenta, cyan and yellow. We used to use something called ‘hot metal’. All the type was made up on something called a linotype, which was like a big typewriter with about 90 keys, it was then put into a metal frame called a ‘chase’. After that, a mould was made and it was sent to the presses.”

Related topics: