Topic 101 Doing work by hand vs. by machine

In general, there are two ways of making products, one is by hand and the other is by machine. It is undeniable that products can be manufactured easily and efficiently by machine. But for me, I prefer hand-made items for their features (особенностей) of individualism and flexibility.

First of all, hand-made products are more unique and personal. Take birthday cards as an example, instead of same pictures on the printed cards available in the market, well-chosen images such as our own photos printed on a self-made card can surely distinguish (отличать, выделить) the card from others. Owing to its uniqueness, the self-designed card will be of greater value for the person who receives it.

fitter - готовый, подобающий, портной, занимающийся подгонкой

What's more, garments (одежда) made by hand are fitter than machine made ones. Although men's suits and lady's dresses can easily be found in shops that sell machine-made clothes, many people go for tailor-made (на заказ) clothing simply because tailors can make those clothes precisely according to individual customer's measurement and styles. Obviously, the fitness (пригодность; соответствие) of clothing is what those people care about most.

Finally, producing items by hand is more flexible. It releases people from being confined by modes (ограничены стилем, модой, одеждой) that are necessary for machine-made manufacturing. For example, in hand-made pottery making (гончарное ремесло), people can create new designs at any time. While in machine manufacturing, however, modes have to be made in advance (заранее), and afterward (позже) all finished products are based on the same modes and have completely the same looks. If a different look is needed, people must reproduce the modes first. Moreover, there are still some items that cannot be produced by machine because there are no matched modes.

In conclusion, it is easy to get the conclusion that doing work by hand is more flexible than by machine in most cases, so I prefer products that are made by hand.