Can I be a typesetter?

January 31, 2018 4:18 PM

I finished a master's degree in Book Design last year, and my favourite aspect of the course was typesetting. Since graduating, I've done some freelance typesetting for the Folio Society, which I really enjoy, but they only give me work every few months. My understanding is that most publishers outsource this kind of work these days, so there are very few typesetter jobs left in the UK. Is it still possible to make a living as a typesetter?
posted by Chenko to Work & Money (6 answers total)

Best answer: Were you setting lead type, or using a computer?

Typesetting as a separate specialty doesn't really exist any more. It's been rolled into page layout, document management, file conversion work (PDFs, epubs, html, etc.) and so on. Graphic designers and art directors used to farm out typesetting work but they don't do that now. It's become part of a bigger picture.

Source: Worked as a typesetter during the 80s.
posted by zadcat at 5:27 PM on January 31, 2018

As zadcat suggests, unless you’re doing old-school cold type composition (which is an artisinal thing these days) there really isn’t a discrete job as typesetter anymore. It’s rolled into page layout and design.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:29 PM on January 31, 2018

Best answer: Would respectfully suggest that the above isn't always the case in fiction publishing - we do hire specific typesetters. However most of these are now people managing outsourced teams in India; or at most running multi-tiered services where only the most expensive tier is done entirely in the UK.
posted by ominous_paws at 3:09 AM on February 1, 2018

I worked during grad school for an equation-heavy academic journal, and much of my job was math typesetting, which I found really satisfying. I have no idea how one gets that sort of job other than "be in a PhD program with a professor who runs a journal," or how common it is to hire people for it outside my subfield.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:17 AM on February 1, 2018

Best answer: Context: US trade book publisher. We have in-house staff for composition, but also outsource some stuff to vendors, who have teams of "operators" in India, and freelancers, who are just one person and their copy of InDesign. The freelancers are often book designers as well, although there are times we will split up the job -- mainly when the freelance designer doesn't like or isn't good with page layout or is too expensive to do corrections. (Composition pays OK, if you're fast. Design pays better on an hourly basis.) Simple jobs are highly automated, so the work that goes out is mainly for complex, full-color titles like cookbooks, field guides, and juvenile nonfiction. Art directors and/or managing editors do the hiring. We expect freelance compositors to be highly expert in the use of InDesign, use best practices for styles and color management, and know about prepress. Ebook conversion would be a useful companion skill.
posted by libraryhead at 8:20 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

unless you’re doing old-school cold type composition (which is an artisinal thing these days)

Ixnay. There are newspapers still set in cold type. I read one every day.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:00 PM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]