Hot Metal to cold type and back again -- Dave's Linotype Website

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Subject: Hot Metal to cold type and back again

Author:
Walt Willey

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Date Posted: 00:53:02 05/17/02 Fri

Wonderful to know people still interested in Ottmar's machine today. He was called "the Master of Cams" for designing most all the movements of the machine using cams and followers. I still do tours and have a restored model 25 in the lobby of the NEWS behind glass. I tell the kids that the machine has both digital and analog computing in it. You see the mats teeth are cut with the binary system for dropping into the magazines and the spacebands are true analog computers! Cut my teeth at 16 on Intertype C-4's and stayed with the trade till retiring. Worked at Rocky Mtn News in Denver as Head Machinist for years and went through the hell of seeing the old machines go out the door. We formed Tech services department and I headed that before retiring in 1992. We ran the gamut of old clanky black Linos to sleek grey Intertypes and finally the blue marvels of the Elektron typecasters.The cold type era started with the ill-designed Intertype Photosetters and then to cumbersome Linofilm and linotron and the high speed Star parts photosetters. On to APS 5 Autologic photo machines and finally all were erased by area composition Pagination setters. The new computer systems eventually signalled and end to the companies that sold and dominated the hot metal market equipment and they faded away. Today I am back where I started and still still service 6 hot metal machines and maintain two perfectly running hand keyed Elektron units in a check-printing operation. Today we are considered "Masters of Obsolete Technology"!

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Mergenthaler Linotype Co.	Lisa Linsky	23:11:39 06/25/02 Tue