Banging out

Banging out is a tradition in some British industries to mark the completion of an apprenticeship or a retirement of an employee. Particularly associated with the printing rooms of national newspapers in Fleet Street the "banging" is the noise made by colleagues hitting metal furniture or machinery and accompanies the former apprentice or retiree walking across the shop floor. The tradition developed further when apprentices would be placed in a truck and showered in printers' ink, glue and paper, a tradition that continues in some companies. Despite the outsourcing of printing from newspaper offices the tradition for retirees continues in modern newsrooms, with the banging being provided by colleagues hitting their desks.

Banging out

Banging out is a tradition in some British industries to mark the completion of an apprenticeship or a retirement of an employee. Particularly associated with the printing rooms of national newspapers in Fleet Street the "banging" is the noise made by colleagues hitting metal furniture or machinery and accompanies the former apprentice or retiree walking across the shop floor. The tradition developed further when apprentices would be placed in a truck and showered in printers' ink, glue and paper, a tradition that continues in some companies. Despite the outsourcing of printing from newspaper offices the tradition for retirees continues in modern newsrooms, with the banging being provided by colleagues hitting their desks.