Linked to the post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540emilymacdougall/2022/06/09/task-4-potato-printing/

I was pleased to see that Emily had chosen the potato printing task as I opted for the first paper and pencil option for two main reasons: I did not have the materials readily available and the time consuming nature of having to carve out each individual letter (the perfectionist in me would have to redo it until it was suffice in being identical). Over the holidays, I have created very simple shapes on potato stamps for cards and wrapping paper, so the thought of having to carve out more complex letters was enough to deter me. I love how Emily included her children in the entire process, from choosing the letters to maneuvering them on the page. It would be a lesson in patience as it took 40 minutes to reproduce 10 painted letters  compared to the speed at which I am typing out this 100+ word response.  As Collier mentioned in “Upside Down, Left to Right: A Letterpress Film.”, with the onset of the mechanized forms, we can “change things in an instant” as opposed to having to redo the entire printing process, that of which Emily experienced with changing the direction of the “E” and “L” to make it legible. Furthermore, if we think about the process of remediation explained by Bolter (2001), the idea of ‘fonts’ and Emily’s use of only upper case letters come into mind. I have the ability to choose an array of fonts on my computer for the purpose of the task whereas Emily was limited to straight letters to ease the carving process. Once more, it is a reminder of how technology provides us with an immediate outcome by “accelerating the rate of information production” and an appreciation of how far mechanized forms have improved since Gutenberg’s printing press.