When The Washington Post was first published in 1877, it contained four pages, cost three cents and had a circulation of 10,000. Reporters traveled about on foot and by hack, horsecar and highwheeled bicycle. The newspaper type was hand-set from the longhand copy of reporters and editors.

Today, The Post is the product of a complex, technologically advanced process. In the Newsroom, the typewriter, long a newspaper fixture, has given way to a computer network that enables reporters and editors to electronically prepare stories for publication.

Working around the clock seven days a week, nearly 1000 people in the Production department take these stories, along with classified and display advertising, and turn them into The Washington Post. The Post is produced at two state-of-the-art printing plants, one in Springfield, Virginia, and the other in College Park, Maryland.

Here is how the newspaper is produced. For a general overview of how The Post is produced every day, you can also check out the QuickTime video below.

Watch the Video, "History's First Draft"
(24.5 MB file may take up to two minutes to load; viewing requires Apple's QuickTime plug-in)