BAY OF PLENTY OFFICES MAY BE MUCH BRIGHTER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 94, 6 February 1950, Page 6

BAY OF PLENTY OFFICES MAY BE MUCH BRIGHTER

If the plans of most British manufacturers of office equipment are carried out it is possible that new and improved changes will be felt in offices in Bay of Plenty towns. At present the daily lot of most office workers, The Recorder comments, is to sit for at least eight hours every day amid the distracting, often maddening noise of a modern office, the drabness of modern office routine accentuated by the dull, colourless surroundings. Cutting Out Noise Designers of the latest office machinery and equipment, from the typewriter to the electronic bookkeeper, are cutting out the noise and brightening the colour schemes. The machine’s drive to dominate the office is now concerned with making the human being more, not less important. N The silent typewriter has been a feature of some offices for a year or two. It is followed by the noiseless electric bookkeeping machine, which produces a minimum of operating noise and vibration. The increased electrification of appliances is gradually substituting the almost silent hum for the nerve-wearing' clatter. Manufacturers are looking more to their designs and colours than before. The line and shade to please the eye will make the office mo're' pleasant to work in. The traditional mourning black is giving. way to red and green; a change which should attract the potential recruit, especially the women. Some machines are also intent on making the office cleaner. Carbon and ink-using appliances offer more protection to the user. Prints Without Ink

A hand-operated duplicator now prints in up to seven colours without ink, needs no cleaning afterwards, and is suitable for up to 500 reproductions. Trends towards lightness and saving labour are shown in a new 8$ lb typewriter, a Gestetnef rotary duplicator (electrically operated and fitted with controlled inking by vacuum pump), a letter opener which will deal with 500 letters a minute, and a letter sealer with a rate of 6000 an hour. Kodak’s microfilming apparatus will file over 2000 normal length letters on a 100-ft reel, and under normal conditions can file up to 6000 documents an hour.