5. Other projects in the printing industry

Although Oskar Wetzell's bindery and Oy Surdus Ab trained and employed deaf workers in the printing industry, deaf workers also worked extensively in other printing houses and other positions in the graphic industry. In the late 1970s, up to a hundred deaf people are thought to have worked in the printing industry. Most of them had received training in the field and worked in standard printing houses.

Paperisampo Oy

Oy Surdus Ab operated until 1979, but the company had struggled with finances for a long time before that. As the employment of the deaf was a constant challenge, Kuurojenyhdistysten Tuki ry, founded in 1959, decided to establish a company called Paperisampo Oy, which manufactured cardboard and paper products. Jarmo Narmala, an educated bookbinder with extensive experience in the printing industry, was involved in the project. Narmala worked as the director of the company from 1961 to 1974.

The Finnish Association of the Deaf also became a shareholder, and the project was implemented by a group of active deaf and hearing people. The company was thought to provide financial benefits for the deaf by offering them jobs and apprenticeships. Paperisampo was established in Hämeenlinna, where deaf employment had been poor for a long time. Initially, the company operated in the basement of the Finnish Association of the Deaf’s office building in Hämeenlinna and was run by six to seven employees. However, the aim was to build a separate office building for the company, which was finally completed in 1964.

Paperisampo Oy continued its operations for about fifteen years without making much profit, but also without suffering much losses. In 1966, the company started employing deafblind workers. They made wickerwork and rattan chairs at a work centre for the deafblind called Service Centre Sampola. Between 1972 and 1974, Paperisampo was dissolved as a company, and its employees were employed by the Service Foundation for the Deaf as sheltered employees.

From 1975, work continued under the name Sampola Work Centre, under the ownership of the Service Foundation for the Deaf. The new and larger sheltered workshop for the deaf and deafblind included a wickerwork department and a bindery. The workshop mainly performed commissioned and subcontracting work for printing houses, institutions and agencies. In addition, it also had its own book and paper industry production.

Support association and journals for the deaf

In addition to Kuuromykkäin Lehti and Tidskrift för Dövstumma published by the Finnish Association of the Deaf, deaf book industry professionals also published other journals for both deaf and hearing audiences. The aim for hearing readers was to make them more familiar with the deaf culture.

Rurik Pitkänen and his wife Katri worked in a wide range of positions at the Finnish Association of the Deaf. Rurik Pitkänen worked as the editorial coordinator of the Kuurojen Lehti journal and as the managing director of the Finnish Association of the Deaf. Rurik and Katri Pitkänen housed two students from the Surdus printing house whose finances were tight during their studies, and so, Rurik Pitkänen thought it would be good to have an association to help provide financial assistance to young deaf students. This is how Kuurojen Graafisen Alan Tuki ry, a support association for the deaf in the graphics industry, was born. The association raised funds by publishing a journal called “Me Kuurot”. Funds were also raised through the sale of stamps printed at Surdus. The association also donated video equipment to deaf clubs and supported the operations of Surdus.

Kuurojen Graafisen Alan Tuki ry awarded scholarships to deaf vocational students, for example, for tuition fees, equipment or literature. Priority was given to those studying lithography, phototypesetting, composition, reproduction, art graphics, calligraphy, screen and offset printing, paper cutting, engraving, metal work, cartography and fair drafting.

The “Me Kuurot” journal was established in 1964 by Katri Pitkänen. She served as the chief editor and, for a long period of time, as the sole editor of the journal. The purpose of the journal was to open the world of deaf people to hearing people, as the vast majority didn’t know much about them, or about sign language. Pitkänen received a lot of feedback and praise from the audience. She also took care of the writing, and over the years, the journal expanded and its content became more diversified. The layout of the journal was designed by graphic designer Osmo Entelä. The deaf artist Soini Suni was also involved in the production of the journal.

Other journals included, for example, “Kuurojen Ystävä”, which was first published in 1926 by Väinö Sihvola. Sihvola published the journal at his own expense. The aim of the journal was to get deaf people’s thoughts and wishes out into the open and tell hearing people about the world of the deaf. The journal was published twice a month and was therefore better able to inform deaf readers of the activities and events of deaf clubs than Kuuromykkäin Lehti.

The “Kuurojen Viesti” journal was published in 1949 and was meant to bring deaf people together. The aim was also to bring the deaf and hearing worlds closer together and to reduce prejudices. “Kuurojen Viesti” was published by the Kuurojenyhdistysten Tuki ry association, whose aim was to support and raise funds for local clubs.

Around the same time, Carl-Erik Martola began publishing the “Kuurojen Maailma” journal. Just like “Kuurojen Viesti”, “Kuurojen Maailma” also aimed to unite those sharing the same fate. The aim was also to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing communities, reduce prejudice, and to bring these two worlds closer together.