Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-02-28

For q Tune Lno MOnlLOE Has DeOu
set on a new and wonderful machine.
New to the Monitor and this section
of the state as it is the only type
composing machine in Orleans county
and wonderful because of the work the
machine will do and the rapidity with
which it works.
The machine is a Linotype.
It was the dream of inventors from
the time the printing industry as
sumed position of Importance to set
type with a machine and experiments
were made for years along the idea
of a machine that would set foundry
type-the same type hand compost
tor sets from the case. One machine
of this kind was perfected and used
to some degree. Such machine was
in use in the Monitor office for nine
years. This machine required two
persons to operate.
The Linotype was the first success
full one-man composing machine made
and the first machines were put into
use more than 20 years ago. The ma
chine has been continually perfected
until there are several different mod
els made to suit the work of different
offices and conditions.
In it's essentials each model ope-
rates upon the same principles. The
operator plays keyboard similar to a
typewriter. This operation assemblies
a line of matrices, or moulds, which
casts slug Cor line of type) from
them and delivers the slug ready for
printing, and finally distributes the
matrices back into their respective
channels in the magazine, where they
are ready to be called down again, in
their turn, by the touch of the key
Of hn
assembling of the matrices the entire
operation is automatic.
The magazine which contains the
matrices, or letter moulds, is on the
top of the machine, sloping from the
back to the front at an angle of 81
degrees. The matrices are made of
brass and one at a time leave the
magazine by force of gravity when re-
leased by the touch of the keyboard.
There are several matrices for each
letter or character used and there are
80 characters in all so the magazine
holds about 1900 matrices. All the A
matrices run in one channel or groove
in the magazine, as do all the matrices
for each letter or character. The
capital letters require a different
matrix from the small letter of course
and each figure and punctuation mark
There is sufficient length to the
matrix (fully one inch) so that the
edge on which the character is
stamped may contain second charac-
ter. The second is a duplicate of the
first so far as the character is con-
cerned, (both being or b. but of
different style or face, and either style
may be used at will by the operator.
For example the two following lines
are cast from the same matrices but
one from one face or style and the
second from the other.
The Monitor, Barton, Vermont.
The Monitor, Barton, Vermont.
The spaceband, which is used to sep
arate the words in a line and at the
same time Justify" the line to the
length of the slug, consists of two
steel wedges. The two are fastened
together SO that one will slide past
the other. Previous to the casting
pressure is brought to bear on one of
these wedges and they increase until
the line is justified to it's full length,
being flush at both ends.
The keyboard is made up of 80 keys,
which act directly on the matrices in
their channels in the magazine. The
slightest touch on the keybutton re-
leases the matrix, which drops to the
assembler. When a word is assem-
bled, the spaceband key is touched
and spaceband drops into the assem-
bier When the necessary matrices
and spacebands to fill the line have
been assembled, the operator raises
the assembler by pressing a lever on
the side of the keyboard. When the
assembler reaches it's highest point it
automatically starts the machine and
the matrices are transferred to the
casting position.
The line of matrices after being as
sembled is carried to a position di-
rectly in front Of the metal pot, which
is full of molten metal This metal
is forced into the line of matrices,
casting the line complete, cline of
type" whence originates the name
"Linotype." The letter moulds in the
matrices are recessed but slightly and
the body of the line is cast through
mould in a disk which, after casting,
revolves, trimming the back or bot