Linotype: It's Pronounced "Line-o-Type"

Johann Gutenberg succeeded in mechanizing handwriting with his invention of the press and adaptation of metal movable type, but there were still many steps that involved manual preparation of the press itself. In 1886, Ottmar Mergenthaler automated one of the most time-consuming stages of the printing process: type setting. Rather than casting and setting type one at a time, Mergenthaler's Linotype machine produced a full line of type. Here's a video I found on Vimeo about the Linotype machine:




"Linotype: The Film" is a documentary about Ottmar Mergenthaler's amazing Linotype typecasting machine and the people who own and love these machines today.

Director & Editor: Douglas Wilson
Director of Photography: Brandon Goodwin
Audio & Sound Design: Jess Heugel
Music: Cornbelt Chorus "Drunk Hymn & Interlude"

You've Never Seen Type Move Like This

Based on the Chinese invention of woodblock printing and the concept of movable type, Shaun Chung has created a Rubik's cube that prints Chinese characters. The text on the cube is known as The Three Character Classic, also known as the San Zi Jing, an instructive text written by Wang Yinglin during the Song Dynasty on how to be a good person in society.

I'd like to try printing or solving one of these cubes.