The quadruple magazine Linotype carries eight faces, and gives the operator 720 charac ters from one keyboard. In 1915 the quad ruple magazine head-letter machine was brought out for setting newspaper display heads in 48-, 54- or 60-point. It will be apparent that the modern machines can set the great majority of advertising and display composition, as well as the straight body reading matter, to which they were originally confined. Among recent im provements is an electrically heated metal-pot for heating the metal. This not only reduces the nuisance from lead fumes, but permits ex tremely close regulation of the temperature of the metal. In 1918 there were over 35,000 Lino types in actual use all over the world.
The Mcmotype Composing Machine, type and-rule caster, is so named because it casts each character on a separate body and auto matically assembles them into lines and columns ready for the press. The system consists of two separate mechanisms, a keyboard and a casting machine, frequently looked after by one operator. The equipment is arranged to make production continuous, for both keyboard and caster are busy on the same job, but should either be temporarily stopped it does not inter fere with the other, which keeps right on pro ducing. The composition is done on the key board, which perforates the paper controller ribbon for the casting machine. This keyboard, consisting of 225 keys, has the same arrange ment of characters for every alphabet as any standard typewriter. The keys are coupled by means of keybars with valves, which admit air beneath small pistons, which in turn drive the punches through the paper controller ribbon when a key is depressed by the operator. When the key is released, the punches withdraw from the paper and the controller ribbon feeds for ward ready to receive the perforations for the next character. The punches are so arranged that certain combinations of perforations across the paper ribbon will position the matrix for the desired character over the mold at the cast ing machine.
In addition to the key and perforation mechanisms, the keyboard has a counting and justifying mechanism. The counting arrange ment counts the width of each character as struck and adds it to the width of the charac ters previously struck in the line, so that the operator can tell at a glance just how much has been put into the line and how much space still remains. The justifying mechanism consists of a pointer which rises one notch each time the space bar is struck, to put a justifying space between words, and a cylinder (the justifying scale) which revolves automatically when the operator has put sufficient characters and spaces in the line to bring it within four ems of the end of each line. The surface of this scale is
divided into small rectangles, each containing numbers which refer to the justification keys on the keybank. The keys corresponding to the two numbers indicated by the pointer are struck by the operator, when sufficient charac ters have been put in the line, and the perfora tions produced by these keys set the wedges at the casting machine to produce spaces the correct width to exactly justify the line.
The casting machine is entirely automatic in its operation and is controlled by the controller ribbon perforated at the keyboard. Two hun dred and twenty-five matrices are carried in the matrix case; and, for different combinations, characters may be substituted, or the matrix i case removed and a new case inserted in the machine. The face of the type is cast in the matrix, but the body of the type is cast in the mold on which the matrix seats while the type is being cast. i The type comes out on the cast ing machine n automatically justified lines, as previously described, and these lines are assem bled on an ordinary galley ready for the make up man. It composes type in any measure up to 60 picas and in sizes from 5- to 24-point; required, measures up to 120 picas may be composed at the keyboard. The duplex key board unit composes simultaneously the same matter in two different faces, point, sizes and measures; the same keystroke that produce the ribbon for magazine columns in 8-point, for example, also produce the ribbon for the same matter in 10-point for book pages, etc.
When operated as a type-and-rule caster, the Monotype casts type for the cases, borders and space material, both high and low, in sizes from 5- to 36-point. An ingenious new unit casts rules and both high and low leads from 2- to 12-point in continuous strips, and auto matically cuts them to any required measure from 6 picas to 25 inches in length.
The versatility of the Monotype and the ability to supply practically everything needed in the composing room has made possible the non-distribution system now in use in many newspaper and book and job printing offices. The machine-set matter as well as the hand set matter, when used, is simply pushed off the imposing stone into the melting pot and recast into new material for every lob type, bor ders, leads, slugs, etc.— this new method prov ing more economical than distribution by hand for re-use. The Monotype thus, while a com posing machine, also brings to the printing office a practicable, small type foundry which supplies the greater part of the material needed in the composing room.