diatronic

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The diatronic is a machine for the production of typesetting and works with the photo typesetting process . It was developed in 1967 by Hermann Berthold AG . The machine works optomechanically , which means that the characters are exposed onto the photo material through a negative stencil. As a compact device, the machine combines a keyboard, computing unit and imagesetter in one housing.

The extended signal box of a diatronic. The writing disk (left) is moved in front of the optical system in such a way that either capital letters or small letters are aligned with the windows of the signal box. In the signal box, the images are filtered through several prism levels moved by the lifting magnets so that the selected character is exposed on the film.

Layout and function

The diatronic is a machine with direct input, it cannot be controlled automatically (e.g. with a punched tape). Text is entered using an electronic keyboard with a QWERTY layout and additional keys for control commands. The buttons are interlocked to prevent accidental multiple exposure.

The machine does not have a screen, but a display on which only the last character typed can be seen. Other set parameters, such as B. Font size, line spacing or page position are displayed. A plain text of the text is made on a strip of paper for control purposes.

Corrections of the text are possible while a line is being set, before the machine automatically excludes the line after pressing a special key, sets the type of record (e.g. justified , central axis record or flutter record ) and sends the line data to the photo unit. This is done in the background while the user can enter the next line. In the photo unit, the characters are generated by writing disks with negative characters. The machine can manage eight writing disks, each with a complete set of letters and digits, in its magazine and produce multiple mixed sets from them. The achievable font size is between 6 and 20 points . Up to 18,000 characters per hour are exposed on photographic film material, which is inserted into the machine in a cassette and has a format of 30 × 30 cm.

The machine's set speed is significantly lower than that of models with a punched tape control. The exposure system with its halogen lamp also works more slowly than others with electronic flash. The advantages of the machine lie in the precision and the design options for typesetting.

The writing disk introduced with the Diatronic is also the writing medium for the other Berthold photo typesetting devices. In front of the interlocking, the disc is positioned by a lifting magnet in such a way that the images of either the "uppercase" or "lowercase" letters reach the interlocking. In the interlocking there are several sets of prisms that are moved by lifting magnets so that only the image of the desired character reaches the exit of the interlocking. From there, the light beam is guided over optics that set the font size and then onto a rotatable mirror that projects it onto the film in the right place. During the exposure, the writing disc, the mirror and the film stand still and thus produce text with a high degree of definition. B. superior drum imagesetters with rotating character carriers.

The Diatronic was the first photo typesetting machine that could set horizontal and vertical lines between 0.1 and 3 mm thick. With its 300 programmable tab stops , very extensive table sets are also possible. Exposure on sheet film instead of roll film has the advantage that every position on the page can be repeated and controlled in any order. This means that even complicated designs can be created directly without additional subsequent assembly.

literature

  • Sepp Dußler, Fritz Kolling: Modern typesetting . 4th edition. Verlag Documentation Saur KG, Pullach 1974, ISBN 3-7940-8703-8 .
  • Günter Schmitt: typesetter. Typographer. A job through the ages . AT Verlag, Aarau 1990, ISBN 3-85502-380-8 .