(本文選自《經濟學人》20191221期)
背景介紹：
印刷術是中國古代四大發明之一，印刷術的發明對於人類文化、信息的交流和傳播有著非常重要的意義。凸版印刷源自於中國古代的活字印刷術，有著悠久的歷史。然而，近幾十年來，隨著數字印刷技術的發展，凸版印刷逐漸消失在我們的視野中。
How the world’s old printing presses are being brought back to life
如何讓世界上的舊印刷機重獲新生
Digital printing almost wiped out the world’s letterpresses 40 years ago, but the art refuses to die
40年前，數字印刷的出現幾乎消滅了世界上所有的凸版印刷，但它仍作為一種藝術形式留存於世
In 2005 Peter Koch, a book artist, and Susan Filter, a paper conservator, decided that there was an appetite for a fine-printing show on America’s west coast. In 2019 Codex, their biennial fair, had 240 exhibitors. In 2015, $1.4m-worth of work was sold at the fair; in 2017, that rose to $2.3m. Books on show, says Ms Filter, sell for anything from $10 to $50,000.
2005年，書籍藝術家彼得·科赫和紙張保護主義者蘇珊·菲爾特決定在美國西海岸舉辦一場精品印刷展。到了2019年，在他們兩年一度的展會上已有240家參展商。2015年的展會售出了價值140萬美元的作品；而到了2017年，這一數字已經上升至230萬美元。菲爾特稱，展出的書籍售價從10美元到5萬美元不等。
This is not the first time that old printing techniques have been reborn. In the late 19th century William Morris, a reactionary socialist aghast at the effects of the Industrial Revolution, founded the Kelmscott Press to revive the skill of hand-printing, spawning a movement that thrived in the early 20th century.
這並非傳統印刷技術的第一次重生。19世紀末，對工業革命產生的影響感到震驚的保守派社會主義者威廉·莫裡斯為了復興手工印刷技術而創辦了凱姆斯科特出版社，由此催生了一場在20世紀初蓬勃發展的運動。
Today’s revival is not dissimilar. 「Digital printing is too easy,」 says Mrs Shaw. 「The computer does it all for you.」 In Tokyo Mr Takaoka echoes her feelings: 「There’s something special about things that are inconvenient.」 Perhaps the skill and effort that goes into letterpress printing answer a human need.
今天的這場復興與過去沒什麼不同。蘇·肖說：「數字印刷太過方便，電腦就能幫你完成所有的事情。」東京的高崗回應了她的感受：「有些不方便的事情卻顯得很特別。」也許，凸版印刷所需的技巧和努力正好滿足了人類的需要。
The view of work in neoclassical economics as something that people will do only in exchange for money was always crude: skilled labour demands effort but also brings joy.
在新古典主義經濟學中，有關工作只是為了賺錢的觀點總是顯得很粗淺：想要成為熟練工固然需要付出努力，但在這個過程中也能獲得快樂。
The connection with history is also important. 「I realised that ever since we were children, we』ve been told printing is one of our four great inventions,」 says Wei Diming, who has opened a letterpress shop in the Chinese city of Xian. 「But no one has really seen what letterpress printing is like and how to use it. So I spent over two years to revive it so that people would be able to experience this cultural tradition.」
與歷史的聯繫也很重要。魏迪銘在中國西安市開了一家凸版印刷店，他說：「我意識到，當我們還是孩子的時候，就有人告訴我們印刷術是中國的四大發明之一，但幾乎沒有人真的見過凸版印刷是什麼樣的，以及該如何使用它。因此我花了兩年時間來還原凸版印刷，從而讓人們能夠體驗這一文化傳統。」
Mr Matar, in Jeddah, is similarly moved: 「Type represents a revolution in the human mind: as an artist, when I touch the letters, it’s a very big thing.」
吉達的馬塔爾也有著同樣的感觸：「字體代表了人類思想的一場革命：作為一名藝術家，當我觸摸到這些字母時，我知道這是一件非常重要的事情。」
Touch is something workers in a digital age often need more of; staring at a screen all day leaves many with a sense that something is not quite right. 「Humans are haptic animals,」 says Ms Filter. 「People want to pick up a stone and make a tool of it.」
觸感往往更是數字時代工人所需要的東西：整天盯著屏幕會讓很多人感覺有些不太對勁。菲爾特說：「人類是觸覺動物，人們會撿起一塊石頭，然後把它做成工具。」
Consumers like the feel of things, too. In the age of the digital download growth in the sales of vinyl records, which can be held and treasured, is accelerating. Their devotees find that vinyl gives a different quality to the sound; similarly, with printing, people like the fact that letterpressed paper has a distinctive feel.
消費者也同樣喜歡這種感覺。在數字下載時代，可供保存和珍藏的黑膠唱片的銷量正在加速增長。這些追隨者發現黑膠唱片能帶來不一樣的音質；同樣的，就印刷而言，人們喜歡凸版印刷紙張所帶來的獨特的感覺。
(紅色標註詞為重難點詞彙)
重難點詞彙：
appetite [ˈæpɪtaɪt] n. 食慾；嗜好
biennial [baɪˈeniəl] adj. 兩年一次的
haptic [ˈhæptɪk] adj. 觸覺的
distinctive [dɪˈstɪŋktɪv] adj. 獨特的，有特色的；與眾不同的
亞洲浪潮，博鰲視野
「立足亞洲，面向世界」
傳遞論壇最新動態，促進亞洲深度合作
全球重要對話的傳達者，亞洲共同發展的瞭望者。
原標題：《雙語|傳統印刷術能否重獲新生？》