Added: Jul 26, 2008

From: oldengine1

Duration: 1:46

The Linotype machine uses a 90-character keyboard to create an entire line of metal type at once. That's how it got its name: 'line o' type'. This allowed much faster typesetting and composition than the original hand method with the Gutenberg-style system of letter, punctuation mark or space at a time. This machine revolutionized newspaper publishing and made it possible for a small number of operators to set type for many pages on a daily basis.http://www.smokstak.com/forum/

Channel: News

Tags: anderson  bill  daily  newspaper  newsprint  paper  pioneer  press  publish  rollag 

Rating: 4.57 (7 ratings)    Views: 6326' favoriteCount='22    Comments: 10

lobell74 Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - hearing the click-click-click took me back over 45 years. Great film!

gustavogf Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - I had the awesome opotunity to operate one of these (of course, with the help of my instructor)... And I burned my hand picking the welded line :( But it was SO cool. I wanna do it again!

douro20 Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - This machine actually pours lead type bars and uses steel bars to press the characters.

jackvictor Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - This machine is a mechanical computer. Many dont realise this. Its not known to many. Awesome on how it distributes back the font moulds.

OrganicDrew Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - that machine is an engineering masterpiece! WOW all i can say is WOW .. i wonder how many man hours went into its development probably tens of thousands or more! I am duly impressed

dmaverick72 Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - Good luck the are all but eliminated in certain parts of the world! Everything is computer direct to plate now.

toresbe Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - Beautiful video. Thanks for uploading it! What a *fascinating* technology.

XL2man Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - As a kid in high school I was hired by a weekly newspaper and I was trained to run one, so I became their linotype operator for five years. These marvelous machines should be preserved instead of being sold for scrap.

muzician21 Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - My Dad used to run and repair one of these. However, molten lead gives off extremely toxic fumes. Surely they wouldn't pass muster as far as OSHA issues today. I wouldn't want to be around one.

harleyboi1 Says:

Jul 26, 2008 - I operated one for several years at various print shops & newspapers in Southern California. They sure were fun.