It is cast from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony. For more than 300 years type was set, or assembled, by hand and locked into a frame, or chase. It was inked and imprinted on paper in a press. Today almost no type is cast and set by machine or set by hand. These processes have been superseded by electronically controlled phototypesetting machines that can set more than 10,000 characters per second.
Printing is done by various methods, utilizing complex, high-speed presses.