background
Lasso was set up as a women's co-operative in 1984. It was a design, typesetting and print buying service for predominantly women's organisations. They worked with other printing co-operatives such as Trojan, Lithosphere, Calverts and Spiderweb, who they would eventually share premises with. Some members had previously been involved with Lithosphere, and as Lithosphere was taking a more commercial direction, Lasso took some of the smaller clients with them. Lasso produced books, magazines, newsletters and stationery. They initially had offices in the London New Technology Centre, which was set up under Ken Livingstone's GLC with the aim of introducing computer technology to ordinary people. The centre offered low ('seedbed')rent to groups and co-operatives who were involved with technology in some way. It also had a reasonable priced creche. Lasso managed to negotiate union recognition for the co-op with the NGA (National Graphical Association) and were probably the first women's business to do this. Like many aspects of the printing trade, typesetting had been traditionally dominated by men who were highly protective of their trade, but as electronic setting came in and typing skills became a distinctive advantage, this dominance was challenged. Lasso closed in the early 1990s.