UK and USA Linotypes -- Dave's Linotype Website

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Subject: UK and USA Linotypes

Author:
David Evans

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Date Posted: 23:54:40 04/21/02 Sun
In reply to: Manuel 's message, "USA & UK linos" on 23:23:36 04/18/02 Thu

Having had no experience of American-built Linotype and Intertype machines, the only differences that I am personally aware of are blank slug heights and matrix strike depths. According to my "Linotype Manual" the British blank slug height is 21.41mm, giving a matrix strike depth of 1.91mm. British Linotype matrices are stamped with the point size, then a diamond (indicating British manufacture and strike depth), and then the fount reference number. British Intertype matrices are recognised by a letter "E" in a circle followed by the fount reference number, and the point size is usually stamped above. I once came across some mats stamped with a triangle reference mark. I suspect (but I'm not certain) that this indicated British-make, but Didot (French) size. American-built machines have a blank slug height of 22.22mm, which needs a matrix strike depth of 1.10mm to achieve type height of 23.32mm. (As I write this I'm only about 15 miles from my "Linotype Manual", and cannot remember these dimensions in Imperial units, except for type height which is 0.918 inches or 23.32mm. However, I cannot remember French type height in metric, only in Imperial units!) The British-American point system uses a type height of 0.918 inches, whilst the French "Didot" system uses 0.928 inches, as does the Russian system. What a nightmare for the designers and parts departments! Even more so when you consider that the standard British-American machine had a maximum 5 inch measure, 30ems, which became 28 ciceros on French "Didot" linotypes. Bill Nairn writes elsewhere on this site about converting British machines to American specification, and so is far more qualified to write on this subject than I am. Perhaps the differences between British and American machines was due to separate development on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the need to produce machines which could meet the requirements of the different type size systems around the world, which varied considerably, but on this point I'm only guessing.

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Subject	Author	Date
MATRICE MARKS	BILL NAIRN	00:38:38 09/25/02 Wed