Monotype 0.4-Inch Crank Press

Monotype 0.4-inch Crank Press, flywheel-operated, Plant No. 1162, made by Monotype Corporation Limited, Salfords, Redhill, Surrey, England, 1930. This machine is part of the equipment used in the production system for Monotype matrices.

The crank press in the Monotype Collection is a standard crank press, as used by many engineering companies, but considerably adapted by The Monotype Corporation to be able to insert, strike and eject 0.4-inch (1.02cm) matrices. The carved end of the hardened steel punch is driven into the softer bronze 0.4-inch blank matrix with a pressure of 60 tons. The punch leaves its intaglio equivalent in the matrix. Over twenty further operations are undertaken before the finished matrix is ready to go to the Monotype Composition Caster where molten metal is pumped through a mould against the matrix to produce a piece of type.

The smaller press (SMG object number: 1995-1583) produces 0.2-inch (0.51cm) matrices with 20 tons of pressure. There are no other Monotype versions of these machines in the world.