The Last Linotype Newspaper (2022)(koaa.com)
koaa.com
The Last Linotype Newspaper (2022)
https://www.koaa.com/news/news5-originals/the-last-linotype-newspaper-operating-the-saguache-crescent
31 comments
Me too
I hand set type for a hand press at school in the seventies as a hobby
Getting each line perfectly justified was an art, a chore, and deeply satisfying
I would not goback, somethings are best left in the past
I hand set type for a hand press at school in the seventies as a hobby
Getting each line perfectly justified was an art, a chore, and deeply satisfying
I would not goback, somethings are best left in the past
There’s a neat documentary from the late 1970’s, “Farewell etaoin shrdlu”. It’s about the final day the New York Times was printed using their linotype machines.
https://youtu.be/1MGjFKs9bnU
https://youtu.be/1MGjFKs9bnU
Related... others?
Digging through the New York Times morgue - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37426116 - Sept 2023 (17 comments)
Farewell Etaoin Shrdlu (1978) [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31312035 - May 2022 (49 comments)
Etaoin Shrdlu - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29071164 - Nov 2021 (33 comments)
Farewell Etaoin Shrdlu (1978) [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23538028 - June 2020 (46 comments)
1978 – 'Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu' - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16907778 - April 2018 (2 comments)
Farewell – ETAOIN SHRDLU (1978) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15806072 - Nov 2017 (1 comment)
Farewell – ETAOIN SHRDL: The Last Day of Hot Metal Typesetting at the NY Times - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13070183 - Nov 2016 (1 comment)
Digging through the New York Times morgue - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37426116 - Sept 2023 (17 comments)
Farewell Etaoin Shrdlu (1978) [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31312035 - May 2022 (49 comments)
Etaoin Shrdlu - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29071164 - Nov 2021 (33 comments)
Farewell Etaoin Shrdlu (1978) [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23538028 - June 2020 (46 comments)
1978 – 'Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu' - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16907778 - April 2018 (2 comments)
Farewell – ETAOIN SHRDLU (1978) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15806072 - Nov 2017 (1 comment)
Farewell – ETAOIN SHRDL: The Last Day of Hot Metal Typesetting at the NY Times - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13070183 - Nov 2016 (1 comment)
Near the end of the documentary, there are operators shown working on digital typesetting terminals.
What would these have been?
What would these have been?
This is a frustrating question, I wrote a big long comment and then deleted it because I watched the video more carefully and I think my conclusion from last time I looked into this was wrong.
Let's start with what I can assert as facts: computerized NYT typesetting began with an IBM 1620 and a Linofilm mechanical phototypesetter. This is not the system we see in the video, the 1620 was a paper tape machine primarily and did not support graphical terminals. I would think that the video might have elided the paper tape part of the process but it also shows us an engineering console that has IBM vibes (formal method in computer history) but is definitely not a 1620. Not surprising anyway, the 1620 was quite old by the time this video was made in 1978 and would probably have been replaced.
The graphics terminals that we see in the video are probably not IBM, because they don't look like any IBM VDTs I know of or can find. They have "Commodore PET vibes," which unfortunately was a popular aesthetic at the time, and a lot of '70s terminals looked generally like that.
I tend to zero in on Harris, though, as in defense contractor L3Harris. At the time, Harris had merged with Intertype, a major competitor to Linotype for hot-metal typesetting in the day. Harris continued to make phototypesetting systems, and they also made full-on Data Processing Systems (computers and terminals) including some for typographic applications. The terminals we see in the video look kinda-sorta like some older Harris VDTs but not exactly, unfortunately it's not easy to find good information on old Harris computer products.
If you look carefully at the video you'll notice there's actually more than one type of terminal, and they look to be of slightly different industrial design eras. So one of the puzzles here is that NYT in 1978 was very likely using more than one phototypesetting system. Elsewhere in the video we see the console of a Data General minicomputer, and a Metro-Set CRT typesetter, underscoring that there are multiple systems depicted.
IN FACT, in a pleasing conclusion, while looking for more info on the (not very popular) MGD Metro-Set CRT typesetter, I found a 1976 NYT article stating that "Early this summer, Harris will install facilities to hyphenate and justify copy and send it through the Times's MGD Metro‐set photocomposing machines."
So we are definitely seeing some Harris terminals, Metro-Set typesetters, I'm guessing the big operator console we see is a Harris Data Processing System that controls the terminals, and who knows what's up with the Data General machine, it might just be for accounting or batch jobs to the typesetters or something.
Computers were a lot less general-purpose back then, as the "hyphenate and justify copy" part of the quote suggests. It's very likely that the article text was written on one computer system, moved to another (by magnetic tape or disk pack or even I/O channel) for layout, etc. Even in the '70s, "store and retrieve text files (by newspaper section, publish date, etc)" would be the requirements for a complete hardware/software system, and Harris seems to have had a focus on that kind of system because of their combination of Intertype legacy and a full computer division.
The film can be a little confusing because I think people watch it and come away with the conclusion that the NYT started computer typesetting in 1978. They didn't, I believe they were doing computer typesetting by the late '60s, 1978 was just when they dropped hot metal entirely. I'm not sure what was happening in the intervening period, but it wasn't at all unusual for publishers to mix-and-match, for example doing articles in hot type and classified ads (which really benefited from computerized management) by computer.
The "paste-up" process that we see at the end, to prepare "camera-ready" pages to be photographed and used to etch plates, had the benefit of incredible flexibility on the input. You would routinely combine output from different typesetting systems (e.g. headlines were often done on their own system), mechanical systems, hand drawn illustrations, etc into one paste-up.
Let's start with what I can assert as facts: computerized NYT typesetting began with an IBM 1620 and a Linofilm mechanical phototypesetter. This is not the system we see in the video, the 1620 was a paper tape machine primarily and did not support graphical terminals. I would think that the video might have elided the paper tape part of the process but it also shows us an engineering console that has IBM vibes (formal method in computer history) but is definitely not a 1620. Not surprising anyway, the 1620 was quite old by the time this video was made in 1978 and would probably have been replaced.
The graphics terminals that we see in the video are probably not IBM, because they don't look like any IBM VDTs I know of or can find. They have "Commodore PET vibes," which unfortunately was a popular aesthetic at the time, and a lot of '70s terminals looked generally like that.
I tend to zero in on Harris, though, as in defense contractor L3Harris. At the time, Harris had merged with Intertype, a major competitor to Linotype for hot-metal typesetting in the day. Harris continued to make phototypesetting systems, and they also made full-on Data Processing Systems (computers and terminals) including some for typographic applications. The terminals we see in the video look kinda-sorta like some older Harris VDTs but not exactly, unfortunately it's not easy to find good information on old Harris computer products.
If you look carefully at the video you'll notice there's actually more than one type of terminal, and they look to be of slightly different industrial design eras. So one of the puzzles here is that NYT in 1978 was very likely using more than one phototypesetting system. Elsewhere in the video we see the console of a Data General minicomputer, and a Metro-Set CRT typesetter, underscoring that there are multiple systems depicted.
IN FACT, in a pleasing conclusion, while looking for more info on the (not very popular) MGD Metro-Set CRT typesetter, I found a 1976 NYT article stating that "Early this summer, Harris will install facilities to hyphenate and justify copy and send it through the Times's MGD Metro‐set photocomposing machines."
So we are definitely seeing some Harris terminals, Metro-Set typesetters, I'm guessing the big operator console we see is a Harris Data Processing System that controls the terminals, and who knows what's up with the Data General machine, it might just be for accounting or batch jobs to the typesetters or something.
Computers were a lot less general-purpose back then, as the "hyphenate and justify copy" part of the quote suggests. It's very likely that the article text was written on one computer system, moved to another (by magnetic tape or disk pack or even I/O channel) for layout, etc. Even in the '70s, "store and retrieve text files (by newspaper section, publish date, etc)" would be the requirements for a complete hardware/software system, and Harris seems to have had a focus on that kind of system because of their combination of Intertype legacy and a full computer division.
The film can be a little confusing because I think people watch it and come away with the conclusion that the NYT started computer typesetting in 1978. They didn't, I believe they were doing computer typesetting by the late '60s, 1978 was just when they dropped hot metal entirely. I'm not sure what was happening in the intervening period, but it wasn't at all unusual for publishers to mix-and-match, for example doing articles in hot type and classified ads (which really benefited from computerized management) by computer.
The "paste-up" process that we see at the end, to prepare "camera-ready" pages to be photographed and used to etch plates, had the benefit of incredible flexibility on the input. You would routinely combine output from different typesetting systems (e.g. headlines were often done on their own system), mechanical systems, hand drawn illustrations, etc into one paste-up.
Harris had a line of Linotronic phototypesetters. They started with a 1970 prototype which required a magnetic tape prepared on a mailframe, and finished up as PostScript printers. Interestingly, the early ones at least were stroke devices, not pixel devices. They had a custom CRT the width of the paper but only one line high.
Holy smokes, thank you for narrowing down a years long mystery for me.
[deleted]
Related piece from then:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/small-town-newspap...
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/small-town-newspap...
Linotype machines are marvellous and I'd highly recommend seeing them in action should you ever get the chance. They are the perfect intersection between a rube goldberg machine and a mechanical marvel to excite a part of my brain that I can't even properly put into words.
There is a very nice documentary called "Linotype: The Film". It is currently on Tubi (in my part of the world at least):
* https://tubitv.com/movies/569684/linotype-the-film-in-search...
* https://tubitv.com/movies/569684/linotype-the-film-in-search...
The fact that there's molten lead, and you run your fingers over the cast type, how unhealthy is that in the long run? Genuinely curious.
I hand-set a lot of lead type in a previous life, and I'm just fine now. As long as it's not aerosolized and you avoid eating or breathing it, lead is a non-problem. Just wash your hands. Of course, much lead was aerosolized during the era of leaded gas and kids ate leaded paint chips and those are huge problems.
Molten lead in a linotype machine might be an issue iff it creates lead vapor, but I'm not familiar with the literature on that subject.
Molten lead in a linotype machine might be an issue iff it creates lead vapor, but I'm not familiar with the literature on that subject.
The problem with leaded solders is from the corrosion that builds up on the outside surface of the solder wire. The pure lead is not that bad. Since the lead was recently melted in the Linotype case there might not be much of a health issue there.
Generally, lead poisoning is less of an issue for adults. They can slowly work it out of their system (or at least to a place it is not as harmful). The huge problem is with children. Lead poisoning interferes with brain development.
Anyway, wash your hands after touching lead before eating or smoking. They probably didn't know that they had to do that back in the days when Linotype machines were popular...
Generally, lead poisoning is less of an issue for adults. They can slowly work it out of their system (or at least to a place it is not as harmful). The huge problem is with children. Lead poisoning interferes with brain development.
Anyway, wash your hands after touching lead before eating or smoking. They probably didn't know that they had to do that back in the days when Linotype machines were popular...
>The huge problem is with children. Lead poisoning interferes with brain development.
On the contrary, people with schizophrenia think that people who don't develop psychosis are "infantile".
On the contrary, people with schizophrenia think that people who don't develop psychosis are "infantile".
When I was a kid I visited a small-town newspaper that still used a Linotype machine. The typesetter made a slug with my name on it and gave it to me. I thought that was the coolest thing and I kept it for years, I'd use it with a stamp pad to stamp my name in all my books. Sadly it was lost at some point.
The last issue of The Saguache Crescent appears to have been in March 2023, so there may in fact be no Linotype machines still in operation in the USA.
https://sag.stparchive.com/archives.php
https://sag.stparchive.com/archives.php
There are lots of Linotypes in use by hobbyists, and even commercial printers who don't do newspapers, but less regular, higher margin projects. DWRI letterpress in Rhode Island has a 'Linotype Daily' (https://dwriletterpress.net/the-linotype-daily-1) which is no longer daily, but still semi-regular. Definitely not the same vibe as the Saguache Crescent though!
I know at least one person who had one set up for personal use, so I suspect that would only be correct if emended to "...still in _commercial_ operation..." and you'd probably have to add "for printing in house".
For context, Linotype alloy is still listed/sold:
https://www.rotometals.com/linotype-alloy-5-pounds-4-tin-12-...
and there was a recent Kickstarter in Europe to preserve one for usage:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1755997589/the-magic-of...
and I'm pretty sure that R.I.T. still has one in operation (a student when my daughter was there did a card which was typeset in Trajanus, which was a Linotype font).
For context, Linotype alloy is still listed/sold:
https://www.rotometals.com/linotype-alloy-5-pounds-4-tin-12-...
and there was a recent Kickstarter in Europe to preserve one for usage:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1755997589/the-magic-of...
and I'm pretty sure that R.I.T. still has one in operation (a student when my daughter was there did a card which was typeset in Trajanus, which was a Linotype font).
My father and my uncles owned a small printing company between 1970 and 1990. There were 3 linotypes at one time. I was always amazed by those complex machines. Back then, in my teens, I worked on the process of melting lead lines so that they became lead bars that feed the linotype. Imagine the safety when a teenager has to play with lead melted at 400°Celsius.
a colleague in California was the son of a man who owned three Linotype machines. The son developed a hostile reaction in proportion to the care and attention given those machines. The son personally destroyed at least two of them, with hostility.
The basis of the situation was some combination of unending penny-pinching by the Father, working the son very hard "to learn the business" including obviously cheating the son on wages and commissions, and then the powerful and accurate machines on such a scale.
Personally the machines are a marvel, and it is an ugly twist of fate that the economics of printing fell through the floor with digital type and later all of digital communications. We have lost something important in the rush to something new. And, this particular Father and Son will never be friends again.
The basis of the situation was some combination of unending penny-pinching by the Father, working the son very hard "to learn the business" including obviously cheating the son on wages and commissions, and then the powerful and accurate machines on such a scale.
Personally the machines are a marvel, and it is an ugly twist of fate that the economics of printing fell through the floor with digital type and later all of digital communications. We have lost something important in the rush to something new. And, this particular Father and Son will never be friends again.
> We have lost something important in the rush to something new.
Have we though?
Generating printed output with quite inflexible energy hungry lead melting monsters?
Before Knuth and metafont we had a period when we had lost something, but we got it back. Cheaper and better don't you think?
I have a tendency to nostalgia, both not for these
Have we though?
Generating printed output with quite inflexible energy hungry lead melting monsters?
Before Knuth and metafont we had a period when we had lost something, but we got it back. Cheaper and better don't you think?
I have a tendency to nostalgia, both not for these
I think the title is inaccurate; the Démocrate de l'Aisne also uses a Linotype machine: https://www.francetvinfo.fr/culture/patrimoine/histoire/patr....
Yeah, it's the last one in the USA.
There is a registry of remaining Linotype machines here:
http://www.linotyperegistry.org/machines/
Quite a few are listed as "in use" but I know that several of those are not.
I used to operate a Ludlow, another hot lead typesetter that was simpler and slower than the Linotype.
http://www.linotyperegistry.org/machines/
Quite a few are listed as "in use" but I know that several of those are not.
I used to operate a Ludlow, another hot lead typesetter that was simpler and slower than the Linotype.
I had a Ludlow, but sadly only have the mats now! Do you have any idea how easy they are to come across in the US these days (specifically NE)?
No idea. I was in high school then, and am retired now. The lady who owned the bindery where I worked closed the shop in the 1980s and has been dead for 15 years.
https://sag.stparchive.com/
This is lovely article (albeit in a sad way). I worked in the print industry for many years; offset-litho than letter press but I learnt how to set leaded type at college and occasionally we out-sourced some work to letter-press printers as there are just some jobs that are better suited to the mechanics of letterpress than the rather aggressive processes of offset litho - putting the paper between many rollers, custom wedding invitations are a good example of when we would use letter press.
There is just something wonderful, to me anyway, about the entire process of printing, letter-press more so.
I see his set up also included a folding machine - we used to have to do a lot of hand-folding for some more delicate or low-run jobs that were not worth the time taken to setting up our folding machine to work on.
I am glad people like Dean Combs exist. May he keep doing what he does for as long as he can and the good folk of Saguache realise what a gem they have here.