> On Sep 10, 2017, at 10:55 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> On 09/10/2017 06:25 PM, Tapley, Mark via cctalk wrote:
>
>> There was one of those machines in my Junior High School shop
>> classroom. I saw it run once (not well enough to successfully set a
>> line of type, but nearly).
>>
>> I endorse Mark’s assessment of its safety characteristics...
>
> I knew a fellow who had one of them in his barn--and he set the local
> freebie weekly newspaper with it. Open gas flame, hot type metal
> that's mostly lead, lots of open whirling parts--what's not to like?
They did offer a safer heater (electric) as an alternative.
> Running one is definitely a real skill. ETAOIN SHRDLU CMFWYP...
There are some nice training videos (Italian, mostly showing a Linotype clone
(Intertype?)) on the web.
> Neil Lincoln once told me that the name of ETA Systems back in the 80s
> was suggested by his son. Neil knew about the Linotype order, but it
> was unclear to me if his son got it from a literary work (there were
> several) or from the actual machine. Chris Elmquist might know.
>
> FWIW, the "assembler" in a Linotype machine is where the type matrices
> drop down in a row, ready for "kerning". Another non-computer use of
> the word.
No, not kerning. Justifying. Linotype machines can't kern; when that's done
in metal typesetting, which is rare, it involves cutting bevels onto the sides
of the type blocks to allow them to partly overlap.
paul
