metal type
Cast letter forms
Metal type is printing type cast from a lead alloy, used in letterpress printing from the fifteenth century until phototypesetting displaced it in the twentieth.
Each character exists as a small rectangular block with a raised letter on one end.
Compositors arranged these pieces by hand or machine to form pages.
The term distinguishes traditional cast type from photographic and digital alternatives.
- composing stickHandheld typesetting tray
- serifLetter terminal flourish
- letterpressPrinting from raised surfaces
- Gutenberg pressFirst European movable-type device
- printing pressMechanical text reproduction device
lead alloy · typesetting · incunabula · tin alloy · ligature · em dash · antimony · baseline · x-height · font family · matrix · kerning · leading · point size · melting point · lead poisoning · sorts · Linotype
- printingprinting press, letterpress, printing, lithographers, offset printing
- printing historyprinting press, Gutenberg, typographers, Gutenberg press, block printing
- letterpressletterpress, galley, composing stick, chase, typesetting
- letterpress printingletter blocks, ligatures, spacers, leading, slugs
- typesettingtypesetting, typesetter, leading, font, kerning
- body typesectomorph, endomorph, mesomorph, somatotype, athletic build
metal typedigital fonts
Electronic character design sets
phototypesetting · cold type · desktop publishing · phototype · OpenType
metal typedigital printing
File-based ink application
laser printing · inkjet printing · electronic publishing · print-on-demand · e-publishing
metal, type, metals, metallic, metallurgy, metallurgical, metalwork, metalworker, types