• About the company
• Contact information

Why "HRF"?

The history of "HRF" begins when the Corporation's founder, Harold R. Fann, worked as a proofreader in Denver, in 1983. Each proofed page had to receive the initials of the proofreader. This was especially important when pages had no corrections or queries (an admittedly rare occurrence). So proofs received the "hrf" initials, and co-workers struggled to pronounce the name, alternating between "hruf" and "hurf."

Before the proofreading stint, Harold worked as a columnist, feature writer and typesetter for a weekly newspaper south of Denver, wrote jingles and ads for the local radio station, and performed in night clubs in his "spare" time.

On moving to Middle Tennessee, Mr. Fann resumed work as a typesetter, and continued to use the initials for identifying job disks and files.

       In the early eighties, typesetting was performed on computerized equipment, using a dedicated system with its own programming, fonts, and coding. Someone who could operate A/M or Linotronic equipment had to do some relearning to convert to a CompuGraphic MCS system. Although "hot metal" typesetting had nearly disappeared by this time, it was still being used in smaller shops which couldn't afford the conversion to a system costing well over $100,000.

Advent of the Personal Computer

Personal computers caught on in such a way, that almost overnight the $100,000 systems became obsolete. In less than a year, design studios (which had wanted nothing to do with the poor quality of output from personal computers) did a 180° turn-around, deciding that the poor quality was worth more, since they could set it themselves on a system costing only $2,000-$4,000. The front-end typesetting equipment could not be given away. When the typesetting shops converted to personal computers (Macintosh and IBM), the dumpsters were filled with the suddenly worthless systems.

Mr. Fann quickly adapted to the new environment. It was just another set of programs to learn, with new codes, but the same end result. Well, not quite the same result - some things just didn't work on the personal computers. For instance, CompuGraphic's MCS system boasted "Auto-Tabs," which the operator could set up based on a tab's longest line, feathering the extra space between the tabs with a single keystroke. This handy tool made it possible to do columns of text and figures in lined-up tabs without even thinking twice about spacing the tabs apart, and without having to calculate a single measurement. These were amazing time-savers, compared to the programs on the personal computer, which used (and still use) tabs based on the typewriter. Auto-Tabs had the advantage of automatically resizing when the typeface or size was changed. Annual reports (which were a staple of typesetters) were once typeset painlessly, but now had to be laboriously calculated - and recalculated.

Some items on the personal computer have never caught up to typesetting's state-of-the-art, nearly 20 years ago. And demand for such features is so small, it's doubtful if these features will ever find their way into Quark, PageMaker, or InDesign.

But from the outset, there were some things that could be done on a low-budget personal computer which never made their way into the dedicated typesetting programs. Designers set out to do away with cutting and pasting onto layout boards, or getting half-tones done for pictures they wanted in their projects. In a very short time, PageMaker and Quark (in that order) made it possible to create a book, a newsletter, an advertisement, all in one digital piece.

Soon, many typesetters had become designers in their own right, working closely with others in the print industry. Mr. Fann soon had a range of clients, formed his own company, and plunged headlong into web design to round out his experience.

Current Projects

Our joint venture, Jensen-Fann Publishers, has produced a successful paperback (The Tao of Pricing) and seven successful e-books to date. These books cover topics from starting your own business, to pricing strategies, to add-ons for websites. The latest e-book (Step by Step Websites in 3-6 Hours with Dreamweaver 8®) was released in Nov. 2005. The latest in the Dreamweaver series of help books for the uninitiated, Step by Step Websites is designed to help people build their OWN websites—instead of some tutorial's fictitious one—using Dreamweaver. This is a "non-tutorial" e-book: instead of LEARNING the program you'll be USING the program to build your own website, using a screen-by-screen, step-by-step approach. Ideal for anyone who's overwhelmed by the myriad commands and options in Dreamweaver. Read more about these projects by clicking here.

Contact us

You don't have to click one of our e-mail links to contact us. We're happy to return your call anywhere within the continental U.S. during normal business hours. Or send your details to the address below: