Linotype was the first successful mechanical typesetter.
Although not directly connected to digital printing, anyone who appreciates print history may be interested in a documentary, Linotype the Film, which is now out on DVD and Blu-ray.
It’s a feature-length film centred on the Linotype type casting machine. Developed in the 1880s by Ottmar Mergenthaler, it was the first technically and commercially successful machine for setting of metal type, which previously had to be done by hand. The use of a molten alloy to form the characters lead to the term ‘hot metal’ for this form of mechanical typesetting.
Together with the slightly later Monotype system, the Linotype system revolutionised the printing industry and both systems were in widespread use well into the 1970s, with some newspapers keeping Linotypes into the 1980s. By then it was even possible to use them to output from computers, using paper tape readers.
However, once Linotypes fell out of use, they were mostly sold off for scrap, with only a few enthusiasts keeping a handful still in operation. If their skills are not passed along to a new generation of operators, knowledge of running the machine could die out completely.
Director Doug Wilson.
The US-oriented film is directed by Doug Wilson, who has a background of graphic design and letterpress printing. It documents how a small group of former operators want to save the Linotype from the scrap yard, even though some see this as a fruitless endeavour.
What place does the Linotype have in the age of new technology, it asks? Should the machine be shoved into a museum and left to rust? Why should anyone care about typography or the technology of communication?
The DVD costs $24.95 (about £16) and the Blu-ray version is $29.95 (about £19) and can be ordered online with international delivery.
Contact: www.linotypefilm.com
