Typography

Member lesson

Movable type to phototypesetting to digital

Lesson 19 of 34 in Typography.

Phototypesetting with the Berthold ‹diatype› · Typography.Guru
Lesson

Three technologies in five hundred years, and each one changed what typography could do and what it lost. Metal type gave way to phototypesetting in the middle of the twentieth century, and photosetting gave way to digital within about twenty years.

Three stations joined by arrows: a hand holding a tray of metal type, a photosetting machine shining light through film, and a computer showing a curved outline with control points.
Metal type in a hand-held tray, then light shone through film, then a letter outline on a computer. Each change made setting type faster and lost something on the way.
Member

The rest of this is for members.

You have read the opening of this lesson. The rest of it comes with a membership.

One membership covers all four courses and Brands.

  • All lessons in the four Learn courses
  • All brand breakdowns in the Brands section
  • All quizzes, flashcards and crosswords
  • An AI teacher on every lesson, for up to 60 questions a day
  • All course material published during the membership

Price

Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.

Check what stuck

Members only

You can't take this check yet.

Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Type cast from molten lead as it is set. Linotype and Monotype.”

    • Vernacular lettering
    • Total cost of ownership
    • Hot metal
    • Exclusivity period
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Letters projected onto photographic paper. No physical type at all.”

    • Drawn, not set
    • Fitting
    • Phototypesetting
    • Logotype
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “A letter described mathematically and rendered at any size.”

    • Justification
    • Outline font
    • Rag
    • Tracking

Elsewhere in the library

Hear about new courses.

Leave an email and we will tell you when something new lands. We do not write often.