Monotype Studio Lettering Machine, 1971

Monotype studio lettering machine, 1971, from the Monotype Corporation at the Monotype Works in Surrey. Enlarger-style unit incorporating a semi-automatic composition process for text in sizes from 3mm to 125mm on light-sensitive paper or film. Accompanied by a selection of matrix discs for typefaces with their origins in the hot-metal process.

The Monotype Studio Lettering Machine was introduced in 1969. It comprises an enlarger-style unit incorporating a semi-automatic composition process which makes for improved quality and speedy operation. It was used in design studios, advertising agencies, typesetting and printing companies and provided facilities for the composition of copy, in body sizes from 3mm to 125mm on a light-sensitive paper or film. It had to be operated under darkroom conditions. A matrix disc containing images for 100 characters is located in the lamp housing; these images are manually selected for direct-reading projection onto the baseboard. Photographic film or paper is contained in a cassette and fed automatically during the intervals between exposures by a motorised transport mechanism controlled by a photo-electric sensor. Copy is set in a continuous strip to be cut and arranged after development.