When setting type by hand typesetters hold a composing stick in one hand. With the other hand they select metal letters out of a type case. Once a line of type is set, different size spaces are inserted between words. Given the ease of using computers, it is becoming less common for type to be set by hand. Typesetting machine operators use special machines to set type.
Operators type in the text.
Unlike a computer, the words are not recorded on a disk. Instead, the text is cast in metal characters one line at a time. The machine stores a supply of each letter and releases them as they are typed. On some machines, a paper tape is produced as the operator types. Typesetters feed that tape into a different machine which puts the metal type in order.