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Melbourne Museum of Printing |
COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT Our Collections Summary |
| USE THESE SHORTCUTS, OR BROWSE DOWN THE PAGE |
| Our Machinery Collection: Nearly 200 Machines: Machines for typesetting, prepress, printing and finishing |
| Our Founts Collection: Over 4000 Founts: Founts of hand-set type, typesetting matrices and typecasting matrices. Phototypesetting founts are included under typesetting. |
| Our Artefact Collection: Other Print Items: Tens of thousands of engraved blocks, stereotypes, electrotypes, typeformes, printers ornaments, hand tools, artwork, negatives, plates, proofs, printed samples, job bags, quotations, invoices, business records, books about printing, books as printed artefacts, you name it . . . |
| Our Ancilliary Collections: Office Equipment, Computers, Telephones: to show the working environment. |
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Machines of all kinds for printing, typecasting, typesetting, cutting, folding, camerawork, platemaking, stereo and many others. For letterpress, offset, foil printing, stampmaking, labelmaking.
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Our collection of machines features both old technology and new.
After all, what is new today will be old tomorrow. We include quite
a few examples of `new' technology, already outdated after just a
few years.
Typesetting (traditional and/or modern) includes Asian and European language machines and mats.
Technical notes are included with this Division. Historical notes about any particular machine or process would be found in our Printing Industry Department. BUT DON'T EXPECT TOO MUCH JUST YET, IN THAT AREA.]
Many machines use sets [or founts] of matrices. These founts are in our Founts Division, but the description of the mats and how they work is in this Division.
Linotype; Intertype; Ludlow; Nebitype; Monotype: machines which produce metal type, composed ready to print.
Monotype Supercaster, Thompson Typecaster, manual typecasters: machines which produce single types, for hand typesetting.
Computer typesetters and other items which produce an image of type on film or paper; cameras, platemakers, processors: items which produce or handle images for photo-based printing.
Letterpress platen and cylinder presses and proofers; Offset presses, photocopiers. Label press. Hot Foil Stamping presses.
Guillotine, folder, stitcher/stapler, jogger, bindery: for processing the paper before or after printing.
Stereotyping press, melting pot, casting box, backplaner etc., for making duplicate printing blocks or rubber stamps.
Stripcasters, to extrude strips of spacing and similar material.
Sundry items. Examples are machines for sawing and mitring printing types and strip material, machines to make cross-points for rule-formes, to put security patterns onto typefaces, clean and adjust mats.
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A fount [Spelt as 'font' in US English, and pronounced
'font' in any dialect] is an old typefounder's term for the
quantity of type made in one founding. [OED]
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In the printing sense, the fount of type was meant to be an
inexhaustible supply of letters (of the one face and size), from
which a book was composed. Each fount is stored in a type case,
a kind of tray with about 90 compartments, or perhaps a pair of cases
to achieve larger compartments.
As the compositor used up the letters, they would be topped up. Work would stop if the `case' ran out of any letter.
The collection includes many founts of type, new and used, with the majority ranging up to 60 years old. Some are older, with many from foundries long since closed. Most are stored in cases, and some `tied up' on galleys.
For the typefoundry, there are many founts of matrices for making hand-set type. It is relevant to note that unlike a fount of type, a fount of typecasting mats has only one of each character. So it is not a fount in the truest sense. But it was obviously convenient to use the same term.
For the linecasters (Linotype, Ludlow, etc.) the matrix founts are stored and used in magazines or matrix cases, and there are many of each letter.
Founts of matrices are listed here, but their technical notes
will be found along with the machine that uses them.
Look here for items which are not machinery or founts. If you cannot
find what you're looking for, try our LOOK-UP.
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Artefacts: engravings, stereotypes, stereo mats, hand tools, cabinetry,
designs, layouts, artworks, negs, plates (offset), printed sheets,
finished works, rubber stamps, etc.
Books: on printing and as examples of printing. Includes thousands of books assembled to show styles of book design and the work of hundreds of printers and publishers throughout the world.
Archive of business records (quotes, invoices, working papers). Thousands of documents giving insight into commerce over the decades, not only within the printing industry.
Art prints: made in our Access Studio, as well as a few acquired
from other studios.
DESIGN DOCUMENTS
DESIGN DOCUMENT SECTION
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We have assembled a large collection of interesting items which have a less direct connection to printing or typesetting.
They serve to illustrate something about the working environment.
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These include :
DON'T DISCARD THEM BEFORE TALKING TO US !
| Home___ Page____ |
Rejoin__ Tour__ |
Typo____ Glossary |
Museum___ Collections |
Museum__ Programs_ |
About the_ Museum__ |
Real Type Foundry_ |