Here's a great post on making metal type by Sarah Bryant of Big Jump Press. She visited The Bixler Press and Letterfoundry in Skaneateles, New York and has great photos and information to share.
The Bixler Press and Letterfoundry is where type is born. And today I will attempt (attempt, mind you) to show you how that happens. The Bixlers have two kinds of Monotype casting machines: The Supercaster, which produces one letter in one point size at a time (so you would cast a hundred or so 48 point Dante lower case e’s, for example, and then change the mold (matrix) and start casting the next letter,) and The Composition Caster, which somewhat miraculously casts whole galleys of type in the order in which they will be printed, (page 212 of Moby Dick, for example, set in 12 point Joanna.) How in the world does the Composition Caster work? Hang in there and I will try to explain. With pictures. Any mistakes are 100% mine, the Bixlers have never once been known to make one.
How the Bixlers Make Metal Type
No comments:
Post a Comment