Ben Franklin: Highlighting the Printer
Jeannette Bennett

“Whatever you become be good at it.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.”
― Benjamin Franklin

Introduction

There’s a lot to learn about Benjamin Franklin. He is celebrated in our history and most people know something about the man—even if it is only to recognize his portrait on our $100 bills. Volumes have been written about his many accomplishments and contributions to our country. He held many titles including author, publisher, inventor, scientist, entrepreneur, librarian, and postmaster, to name a few. However, of his many accomplishments, Franklin especially valued being a printer—it was a source of identity. He always considered himself a printer.¹

Early Years

Born in Boston in 1706 as the 15th of 17 children, Franklin was the son of a soap and candle maker. He began attending school when he was eight years old. But after only two years of formal education, he dropped out to work in his father’s business. While working with his father, he continued to read and learn on his own.² Even though he wasn’t in school, Ben continued to invest in his human capital, which is the knowledge and skills that people obtain through education, experience, and training.

Ben’s older brother, James, had a print shop in Boston. When Ben was 12, he began to work as an apprentice for James. This gave Ben the opportunity to learn a skill and increase his human capital. The apprentice agreement tied him to working for his brother until he was 21 years old.³ In return, James would teach Ben the printing business and provide him with clothes and room and board. Being an apprentice meant that Ben had to obey his older brother.

Ben was a hard worker and quickly became skilled at printing. He dreamed of being a writer as well. He saw a chance to be a published writer when James started a newspaper. Being the “little brother,” Ben knew that James would never agree to print anything he wrote, so he schemed a plan. In 1722, he began to write and submit letters using the pseudonym, or pen name, Silence Dogood.⁴ This was Ben’s first pen name, but it would not be his last. He managed to get 14 of the popular letters printed before his scheme was discovered.⁵

Independent with Skills for Business

Ben grew increasingly unhappy working as an apprentice and grew tired of having to obey James. In 1724, Ben broke the apprenticeship agreement and ran away. He traveled to Philadelphia and then to London and set out on his own to earn a living in the printing business. After a time in London, Ben returned to Philadelphia. Along with a business partner, Ben bought a print shop and began printing the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729.⁶ Accepting the risks of entrepreneurship, Ben displayed the following quote—his own—in the window of his print shop:

Being an entrepreneur brought risks and challenges. There were already other printing businesses and newspapers in town, so Ben had competition. To make a profit and stay in business, he had to find ways to make his newspaper better than the others.

Franklin worked hard to get ahead of his competition and create a market for the Pennsylvania Gazette. He knew that for his paper to sell it had to be interesting to read, so he reported on topics of local interest, such as crime, disease, disasters, and accidents. He also started a new style of journalism by publishing articles that represented different points of view. Using these approaches, Franklin created demand for his newspaper and found success in the newspaper business.

Ben developed new ideas to help him sell his paper for less than his competition charged. One way he managed to lower the costs of production was to sell newspaper advertisements. To make advertising more successful, he changed the advertising style of the time by including simple illustrations.⁷ At first, this idea didn’t work. He couldn’t convince businesses to buy advertisements. But he didn’t give up on the idea; he just tried a different approach. He began to advertise one of his own inventions from 1742—the Franklin stove.⁸

When sales of the stove boomed, other businesses noticed. They began to buy advertisements in the Pennsylvania Gazette. Advertising revenue lowered Ben’s costs and allowed him to keep the price of his newspaper low while still earning a profit. Advertising was a win-win situation for Ben and his advertisers.

Placing an ad in a newspaper was a new idea to most people, and Ben helped make it popular. By using advertising, Ben created a market for his newspaper, moved ahead of his competition, and earned a profit. His persistence paid off. Because Franklin’s advertising innovations became standard practices, Franklin is often call “the patron saint of advertising.”⁹ Franklin continued to own an interest in the Pennsylvania Gazette for many years after he retired from the business. He finally sold his interest in the newspaper in 1766.

In Ben’s day in colonial America, few people owned books or had access to books and other publications. There were no televisions, radios, telephones, or internet. Newspapers carried only limited information. Ben saw people’s need for information and began publishing Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1732.¹⁰

Using the pen name Richard Saunders, Franklin wrote this annual publication as a service to educate and stimulate the intellect of readers. The Almanack (or Almanac) provided entertainment along with information. It featured weather predictions, astrology charts, sunrise and sunset information, and gave advice.¹¹ Franklin also included wise quotes, and many of the quotes from the Almanack are still commonly used today. For example, you have likely heard Ben’s sayings “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” and “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

Ben was innovative. He used humor, cartoons, illustrated news stories, and letters to the editor. He also used a serial format for the Almanack so readers would look forward to the next edition and purchase it again. He designed this publication to include something for everyone: puzzles, poetry, maps, recipes, and even selections that could be used to teach children how to read. The Almanack was printed for 25 years and was so successful that sales were second only to the Bible, with annual sales climbing to 10,000 volumes.¹²

Currency and Money

Franklin’s innovative ideas also contributed to the evolution of money in America. Although he did not create the first paper money, he used his printing business to share ideas about money and also contributed to making it more secure. For example, in 1729, he wrote and published a pamphlet on the need for paper currency in the colonies.¹³

His idea was to give real value to currency by backing the currency with land. The idea was accepted, and Franklin began designing currency for the colonies. Beginning in 1731, Ben earned more income when he was hired to print the paper currency issued in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. ¹⁴

Paper currency was easy to counterfeit, and this presented a great concern. In 1737, however, Ben invented an anti-counterfeiting technique. Franklin knew that leaves have complex details that would be almost impossible to duplicate, so he used a copperplate press to transfer a leaf image onto the paper currency. Counterfeiters could not easily duplicate the fine lines and irregular patterns Ben made from the leaf patterns. He continued to improve the anti-counterfeiting technique and guarded the secret process. Through his anti-counterfeiting invention, Franklin contributed greatly to the use of paper money. ¹⁵

Franklin continued to use his printing and writing skills to support his ideas. In 1765, he wrote a proposal for a national paper currency.¹⁶ The many kinds of currency being used throughout the colonies were confusing and inconvenient. Franklin’s ideas were convincing, and a national currency was soon to become a reality.

Although different from the currency of Franklin’s Day, our modern currency has advanced high-tech, anti-counterfeiting techniques, including watermarks, security threads, and color-shifting ink. Today, U.S. currency is printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which is part of the U.S. Treasury Department. That department redesigns U.S. currency every 7 to 10 years to apply advances in technology to stay ahead of counterfeiters—just like Ben sought to do in colonial days. With each alteration of our money, the government pursues a solution to a problem that remains with the nation since colonial days. Today, we honor Ben Franklin each time we use a $100 bill.¹⁷

Contributions to Society

In addition to Franklin’s hard work to attain his own goals, he invested in society by sharing his knowledge and ideas. His contributions are numerous and still evident today. For example, he founded the first public lending library in 1731. He believed making books available to everyone was an investment in human capital and an investment in society. His efforts to create a paper currency for the country proved a lasting contribution that we continue to benefit from today. And even in his later years, he continued to contribute. He was one of the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776 when he was 70 years old.¹⁸

Conclusion

Although Ben’s formal education was less than two years, he never stopped learning. He continued to improve his skills and invest in himself—in his human capital—by working hard, reading, and making a commitment to lifelong learning. Beginning as an apprentice in a print shop, he earned success with both his skills and his persistence. Franklin’s printing business was very profitable, and he accumulated enough wealth to retire from active business when he was 42 years old. After retirement, he was devoted to public service.

Franklin began writing his autobiography in 1771. When he died in 1790, he held many titles including author, publisher, inventor, scientist, entrepreneur, librarian, and postmaster. He had two honorary doctorate degrees, including an honorary doctorate awarded by Oxford University in 1762 for his scientific accomplishments. After this award, he went by “Doctor Franklin.” However, in his will he listed “printer” first after his name. From his own hand, the assumption can be made that printing remained the most important facet of his life. His epitaph written in 1776 reads “The Body of B. Franklin, Printer.”²⁰

Glossary

• Advertising: Communication used by businesses to persuade consumers to buy a good or service.
• Competition: Competition takes place in markets. Sellers compete with other sellers for sales to consumers. Sellers compete on the basis of price, product quality, customer service, product design and variety, and advertising. Buyers compete with other consumers for goods and services. This often results in higher prices.
• Costs: Things unfavorable to a decisionmaker.
• Costs of production: The amount producers pay for the resources used to produce a product.
• Currency: Money, usually made from some type of paper-like material.
• Entrepreneur: An individual who is willing to take risks to develop new products and start new business. Entrepreneurs recognize opportunities, enjoy working for themselves, and accept challenges.
• Entrepreneurship: A characteristic of people who assume the risk of organizing productive resources to produce goods and services.
• Human capital: The knowledge and skills that people obtain through education, experience, and training.
• Income: The payment people receive for providing resources in the marketplace. When people work, they provide human resources (labor) and in exchange they receive income in the form of wages or salaries. People also earn income in the forms of rent, profit, and interest.
  Investment in human capital: The efforts people put forth to acquire and improve human capital. These efforts include education, experience, and training.
• Market (marketplace): Buyers and sellers coming together to exchange goods, services, and/or resources.
• Money: Anything widely accepted in exchange for goods and services.
• Profit: The amount of revenue that remains after a business pays the costs of producing a good or service.
• Service: Actions that can satisfy people's wants.