Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-18
ORIGINAL LINOTYPE
ON DISPLAY HERE
First Machine to Cast Slugs
Added to Exhibit of Ma
tioaaI Museum.
REVOL UTIOMIZED PRINTING

The first machine from "hiOi NM
type bars or slugs We're cast has lateis
been deposited in the DIVISION OF
graphic arts of the United States Ma
tional Museum. and is located IN the
Smithsonian building. This particular
idea. the invention of Mergenthaler,
revolutionized printing. 1t was the hrs'
machine to cast complete line OF type
ready to print from Previous to the
adoption of the improved machine, now
used so extensively. many men were
needed in the composing rooms, Tor on
a modern example of this remarkaple
machine a competent operator can set
four times as much copy as by hand
Composition and distribution by hand
are both tedious and expensive, thus
the new machine saved the printers
both time and money.
Thousands Now in Use.
Every big-town daily newspaper in
the country employs from Is to 50 OF
these machines. and every daily uses
one or two, so that there must be about
$4,000 used in the daily newspaper Off
ces in the United States and Canada
alone 1t was estimated in 1898 that
in existence. This shows the present
increased number used in the daily
newspaper offices, but it does not show
the whole demand. If each of the
24.S6S publication houses listed in the
current newspaper annual for the
United States and Canada uses no more
than five machines the total would be
over 10000. twenty times as many as
existed only eighteen years ago.
There are three machines exhibited in
the Smithsonian halls which are closely
related to the development of this con-
tribution to the art of printing. TWO oil
them are early models, which produced
indented strips of PAPER mache (mat-
rices), from which stereotype casts
were made. Some of these earlier ma
chimes consisted of a cylinder which
to bring it into position to indent the
paper. All of which was controlled by
the pressing of a key.
This style, called rotary impression
machine, was built mainly by the late
Ottnar Mergenthaler in 1S7I7S under
the auspices of j. o. Clephane, VINO
later organized the National Typo
graphic Company. The second, called
stereotyper, worked well, but the cast
ing of the slugs was found to be I'M
sa tisfactory. and Mr.. Mergenthaler I'M
dertook the invention of one machine to
do all the work.
Started in 1888.
He started work with L. G. Hine,
early in 1883, making a small expert
mental machine, which printed but
twelve letters at a time, but demon
strated the fact that full-sized ma
chine built on this principle would be
an enormous step in advance This was
accomplished, when the large machine
was built-the third of the series eX-
hibited in the Smithsonian building
which was the first machine from which
linotype bars, or slugs, Were cast. On
the printing face the characters formed
a complete and solid line of type, SINH
lar to a line OF individual type soldered
together, and they were ready for use,
a number of lines making up column
or page-just like the individual lines
of this article.
The matrices or dies fer the different
letters, used in this first machine, We're
or long tapered bars, arranged side by
side vertically. each containing COM
plete alphabet, other characters ana
spaces. The operation of the keys in the
Keyboard set number OF stops. one
for each letter depressed. and when
the whole line had been set the entire
line of matriX bars was lowered until
the different bars came into contact
with their respective stops. which were
at various heights. so that at a certain
point the characters on the matriX bars
formed line of reading matter. There
was no automatic justification. or spac-
ing to make the line the exact length
required, but it was left to the opera
tor who struck the space key and hlled
in with thick or thin spaces on the ia
pering matrix bars
The line of matriX bars was then
clamped together a mold was inter-
posed between the matrices and pot
of molten metal. which moved up to the
slot in the mold, and the linotype bar
was cast. The line was then unclamped,
Tie matrices automatically raised to
their normal positions and similar oper-
a1ions for casting the next line were
performed.
Spectators Early for Test.