The Print Shop

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. First used commercially in 1886 by the New York Tribune, it remained through the 1960’s as the main method of setting newspaper type. At the print shop, you will also find racks of lead type & slugs, a platen press and a folder in operation.