Publishing today is relatively easy, but, as The Tablet’s production editor explains, printing the journal in 1840 was a laborious process The founder of The Tablet, Frederick Lucas, a man with energy, passion and a desire to communicate, would no doubt have embraced and exploited digital technology had it been available in his day. But 175 years ago, the most effective medium for expressing your opinions, ideas and beliefs was the printed word, and the best medium for a niche publisher was the weekly magazine.Like many other trades and crafts, printing was transformed during the nineteenth century as processes that once relied on skilled hands were mechanised. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, a papermaking machine that produced reels rather than single sheets was developed; the