Typographer
The Typograph is a typesetting machine in which the respective type matrices are suspended in a fan-shaped frame. It was invented by the American John Raphael Rogers . The construction of the line typesetting and casting machine Typograph is similar to an oversized typewriter with a saddle-shaped die basket on it. The keyboard keys are connected to the 84 die channels of the die basket. When a button is pressed, a rod-shaped die is released, which is guided by its own weight and guided by wires to the collection point. After setting the line, it is "excluded" by conical space rings and then completely poured in a water-cooled casting mold. The dies return to their original position by tilting the die basket. The first model of the machine only had a single typeface on the die rods, so that awards only had to be manually integrated into the set with additional effort.
Development of the machine
After the Mergenthaler Linotype Company acquired all US patents for Typograph and took the machine off the market in America, the International Typograph Co. was founded in Canada in 1895. From there the machine comes to Germany. Isidor Loewe from Ludwig Loewe & Co. in Berlin is interested in the technology and takes over its construction. One year after the Typograph was presented at the trade fair in Berlin in 1896, the Typograph typesetting machine factory was created and the first version (Model A) went into production. Here the setter has to tilt the die basket himself after casting so that the dies return to their original position. Model B is equipped with a self-laying device that automatically tilts the die basket back. The final design was achieved with the UB model, which was presented at the Bugra in 1914 . The previously saddle-shaped die basket is given a straight shape so that the die set can be changed quickly with the die rake. This is done by replacing the bearing comb. The two-letter matrix is also introduced here, which now also allows for distinctions in a sentence. So that larger fonts can also be cast on a larger cone (e.g. for headings), the casting molds can now also be exchanged. The typographer can also cast lines and bars .
The performance of the Typograph is far below that of the widely used Linotype typesetting machine , due to the interruption in the touch between the casting of the line and the tilting back of the die basket . The wear of the dies is also higher than with single die machines. Regardless of this, thanks to its lower price, the typograph was the most widely used lead typesetting machine after the Linotype typesetting machine. Today typograph typesetting machines can only be found in museums.
literature
- Sepp Dußler, Fritz Kolling: Modern typesetting. 4th edition. Verlag Documentation Saur KG, Pullach 1974, ISBN 3-7940-8703-8 .
- Richard L. Niel: Composition technology pocket dictionary . Steyrermühl, Vienna 1927.
- Günter Schmitt: typesetter. Typographer. A job through the ages . AT Verlag, Aarau 1990, ISBN 3-85502-380-8 .
- Hans-Jürgen Wolf: History of the graphic process. A contribution to the history of technology . Historia Verlag, Dornstadt 1990, ISBN 3-9800257-4-8 .
- Max Baltis, Heiri Scherer, MB & Co Zurich, Tages-Anzeiger Zurich: The manual 'Die Drucksache'. 3rd, revised. Edition. Zurich 1983, DNB 861079361 .
