With the rising of computer typesetting, movable type which is with limited capacity is facing the difficult situation of industry declining. Traditional printing plants are closing or transforming its business gradually, and it caused the type foundry that produced printing type shutting down one after another. The whole industry has almost faced the situation of completely closing down in 1995, and the business turnover of Ri Xing Type Foundry at that year was low to only NT$2,000 a month. That kind of situation maintained almost for another 10 years.

According to Master Chien-Kuan Chang, Ri Xing Type Foundry encountered many challenges in order to pass on the traditional technique including inaction of the government, the uncompetitive cost with modern printing, loss of technical talents as well as the improvable space layout and service...etc..

1. Preservation
In the past years, there were some dozens of government officials visiting Ri Xing successively; up to President Ying-Jeou Ma, Mayor Wen-Je Ko and down to Section Chief. However, government’s investment of essential preservation to Ri Xing was still out of sight until the intervention and assistance of Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government in October 2012; things started to improved. Nevertheless, we are still working hard to struggle to rectify Ri Xing official name to either ”historic building” or “traditional craftsman”, that are more possible in helping Ri Xing strive for government’s engagement in resource preservation. Whereas the previous regulations conducted positive, the preservation of type foundry technique is unprecedented. We still have long way to go in the future, and we need more volunteers to join us.

2. Challenges
The books, documents, tablets that we printed out in early days were from the setting of type characters, and it cost lots of time in arranging the layout as well as in printing. The cost of modern printing is only one-tenth of traditional movable type, and it is impossible to compete with the speed of ten times faster. Movable type industry has been nearly disappeared more than 10 years ago.

3. Dying profession
Even though it is not too difficult to learn to operate old movable type printing machine, most of the master workers who know how to operate it retired. Ri Xing discharged the last workers decades of years ago because of the decline of business, and it is now the only type foundry in Taiwan but the technical talents has been falling apart. Current practitioner is sixty years old, and the preservation and passing on are eagerly needed.

4. Changes
Although Ri Xing has had basic improvement last year under the intervention and help of Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University, there is still a very big gap with the ideal movable type museum. Through all types of hand-on activities, we hope to turn this traditional printing workshop into an interactive museum

Source of information:
  Interview with master Chien-Kuan Chang
  aiwan movable type preservation association http://rixingtypography.blogspot.tw/

Data compilation: Chun-Han, Fan-Yi
Photo taken by the camera team of CRS