The basis of putting printed words on paper is composing. Modern (computer) composing owes a lot to the traditions of the original (letterpress) methods. Stereotyping is a method for making additional copies of type-settings, incl rubber stamps.

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Our Glossary of Printing and Typography
LETTERPRESS COMPOSING, STEREOTYPING, STAMPMAKING
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Glossary Theme

Thematic Glossary of

LETTERPRESS COMPOSING, STEREOTYPING


SUGGESTION: HOW TO EXPLORE THIS GLOSSARY
IF YOU KNOW THE NAME OF A TERM, GO TO THE ALPHABETIC PAGE
eg to find PICA choose the Alphabetic Page N-Q. You will find several meanings of this word, and that it is mostly used in TYPE MEASUREMENTS.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE OTHER TERMS ABOUT TYPE MEASUREMENTS
look in the Thematic Glossary about Typecasting and Type Measurements
CHOOSE
AN
ALPHABETIC
PAGE:
A,B
C
DEF
G-K
L,M
N-Q
R,S
T-Z
CHOOSE A THEMATIC PAGE:
CHARACTERS, TYPEFACES
LAYOUT, PREPRESS, TYPOGRAPHY
TYPECASTING, MEASUREMENTS
MACHINE TYPESETTING, HOT/COLD
LETTERPRESS COMP, STEREOTYPES
WORKFLOW, PROOFREADING, IMAGES
PRINTING: LETTERPRESS, LITHO
FINISHING: CUT, NUMBER, BIND

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THESE DEFINITIONS INCLUDE:
usu = usually cf = compare with eg = for example typic = typically

NOUN, COUNTABLE angle quad LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
spacing unit of triangular section, to facilitate setting lines at an angle

NOUN, COUNTABLE border LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
line of decoration: unit borders (separate types), patterned slug, or continuous strip border

NOUN, COUNTABLE brass circle & oval1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
devices to print a circle or oval rule with type in the middle. Often for business seals or stamps

NOUN, COUNTABLE brass circle inner LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
strip of brass rule formed into circle to go inside brass circle outer, leaving room for types.

NOUN, COUNTABLE brass circle outer LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
square block of brass, circular opening for type, type-high rule machined around opening

NOUN, COUNTABLE brass oval LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
oval shaped outer and inner, as for brass circle

NOUN, COUNTABLE brass rule LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
rule strips (see rules) made of brass for long wear

VERB card LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
use pieces of card (thinner than finest leads) for fine justification

NOUN, COUNTABLE column rule . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
light faced vertical rule between columns of type

ABBREVIATION comp . . . . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
compositor

VERB compose LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
set types into words, lines, paragraphs and documents

NOUN, COUNTABLE composing stick .. 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
hand tool used in composing lines of type

NOUN, COUNTABLE compositor LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
person whose job is to compose type or put together pages of type

NOUN, COUNTABLE compositor's saw LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
circular saw bench with sliding table, clamp, gauges to cut leads and slugs

NOUN, COUNTABLE crosspoint former LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
device to thread brass downrules through lead crossrules (for business forms)

ABBREVIATION diss LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
distribute

VERB distribute LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
replace material after use into correct storage places, esp handset

NOUN, COUNTABLE double caps case LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
this is the typical upper case, with divisions for two capital alphabets, perhaps one is small caps

NOUN, COUNTABLE dustproof cabinet LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
type cabinet providing almost no gap between cases. Dustproof cases have no "lip" for pulling.

NOUN, COUNTABLE dustproof type case LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
type case to suit dustproof cabinet. Have no lip, so needing pull handles

NOUN, COUNTABLE dusty type case LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
type case with pulling lip, requiring a substantial gap between cases. "Dusty": reverse nickname

NOUN, COUNTABLE em quad LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
(in handset type) space piece of square proportions. Also 2-em, 3-em quads

NOUN, COUNTABLE floating accent LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
accent cast separately and set above the appropriate letter

NOUN, COUNTABLE forme [US form] LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
matter (type or blocks) assembled into chase ready for printing

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE foundry type LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
handset type of a quality made in a traditional typefoundry

NOUN, COUNTABLE fount . . . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
set of types (or mats) complete with all normal characters (one face and size)

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE furniture LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
strips of larger spacing (wood, lead, light metal, bakelite)

NOUN, COUNTABLE furniture rack LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
to accommodate 5 or 10 each of 2,3,4,5,6,8,10 by 20 to 60 picas typically

NOUN, COUNTABLE galley . . . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
tray for holding composed type before or after printing: metal or wood

NOUN, COUNTABLE galley magnet LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
strong permanent magnet: attaches to galley to hold lines for proofing or storage

NOUN, COUNTABLE galley proof LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
proof taken from type on the galley, a rough copy to be read for errors

NOUN, COUNTABLE galley rack LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
rack to hold a number of galleys (typically 50)

NOUN, COUNTABLE hair space LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
a letterspace thinner than a thin space: no standard: often cut from leads

NOUN, COUNTABLE hairline rule LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
rule with very fine face, usually on a wider body: hairline on 2pt or 6 pt

NOUN, COUNTABLE high space LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
a letterspace of full (shoulder) height, used where kerns need to be supported

VERB impose LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
arrange type matter and illustrations within a chase in position for printing

VERB justify (a line) LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
adjust interword spacing so that line exactly makes the measure and is tight

VERB justify (a page) LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
adjust spacing between lines so that each page makes exactly the right length

VERB lead out [led] LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
to lead out a paragraph is to increase its length by leading

NOUN, COUNTABLE lead rack LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
typic lengths 10 to 60 picas (steps of 1) often with two divisions per length

NOUN, COUNTABLE lead [led] . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
strip of spacing material mainly used between lines: size is eg 2 pt x 18 picas

VERB lead [led] . . . . 2 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
place leads between consecutive lines to increase effective line spacing

VERB letter space . . . 2 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
use thin or hair spaces between letters usu in one word to avoid big word spaces

NOUN, COUNTABLE line gauge LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
ruler used by LP comps, calib in picas (and other units): usu with hook end

NOUN, COUNTABLE lineup table . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
metal table with rolling, calibrated guides for exact positioning of items

NOUN, COUNTABLE low space LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
normal handset space: top of body is well below type shoulder: see high space

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE lower case . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
the lower, or frontmost of a pair of cases, holding most used characters

NOUN, COUNTABLE mallet LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
wooden or rawhide hammer: used with planer and with shooting stick

NOUN, COUNTABLE measure . . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
length of lines: stick is set to this: every line must make the measure

NOUN, COUNTABLE mid (middle) space LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
a word space equal to one-quarter of the em [US: 4-to-em space]

NOUN, COUNTABLE mounting block LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
block of any material for mounting engravings or steroetypes to type height

NOUN, COUNTABLE mutton LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
guard word for 'em', to distinguish from 'en': see nut

NOUN, COUNTABLE nonpareil [nomprul] LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
strip of 6pt lead or reglet: drop some nonpareils between those lines

NOUN, COUNTABLE nut LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
guard word for 'en', to distinguish from 'em'.

EQUIVALENT TERM pi LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
cute term, using the Greek letter pi to represent the word pie - see Printer's Pie

NOUN, COUNTABLE pica . . . . . . . 5 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
strip of 12pt lead or reglet: grab a few picas

EQUIVALENT TERM pie LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
see printer's pie, pi

VERB pied LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
if you pie a job, the type is spilt or disarranged

NOUN, COUNTABLE planer LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
flat wooden block: placed on type during lockup and tapped with mallet

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE printer's pie LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
the mess of types formed when quantity of type is spilt or dropped: a pied job

NOUN, COUNTABLE quad . . . . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
spacing material within the line but wider than word spaces: em quad, 3-em quad

VERB quad . . . . . . . 2 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
use quads to quickly fill out blank portion of a line: quad the line [out]

NOUN, COUNTABLE quad caps case LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
upper case with four sets of divisions. One use is for founts with four face sizes eg Mono Spartan

EQUIVALENT TERM quadrat LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
the original term for quad before the abbreviation became the normal term

NOUN, COUNTABLE quoin LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
wedge or wedging device for locking type, spacing, etc into chase for printing

NOUN, COUNTABLE quoin, mechanical LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
expanding device of metal with wedges, cams, screws, etc

NOUN, COUNTABLE quoins, pair of LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
pair of wooden wedges or cast iron wedges, tightened by knocking together with a shooting stick

NOUN, COUNTABLE random top LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
sloping top applied to type cabinets or frames, flexibly allowing work space and storage boxes

NOUN, COUNTABLE register quoin LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
small quoin placed each side of a block to adjust its position with in the forme

NOUN, COUNTABLE reglet LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
wooden spacing strip (similar function to leads) usu 6 and 12 pt, also 18 and 24 pt, by any length

NOUN, COUNTABLE rule . . . . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
type-high strip of any material which prints a straight line: the line so printed

NOUN, COUNTABLE rule . . . . . . . 2 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
may be brass, typemetal, wood, steel: may be multiple line, dashed or dotted

NOUN, COUNTABLE rule . . . . . . . 3 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
face may be hairline or point width: eg 2pt rule on side of 6pt body

NOUN, COUNTABLE rule forme LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
typeforme containing rules, leaders, verticals etc to print a business form eg an invoice

VERB set type LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
[hand set] pick up types, arrange them to form words, justify them to a line

NOUN, COUNTABLE setting rules LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
piece of brass rule, exact length, used in composing stick as an aid. Typical set from 6 to 48 ems

EQUIVALENT TERM setting stick LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
another term for composing stick

NOUN, COUNTABLE shooting stick LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
hand tool for tightening wooden quoins: used with a mallet

NOUN, COUNTABLE slug . . . . . . . 3 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
(standing slug): heading re-used in each edition of paper, like MARKET REPORT

VERB slug . . . . . . . 4 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
to place new slugs (addits or corrections) into an existing job (on a galley) - also "to slug in"

NOUN, COUNTABLE slug . . . . . . . 5 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
a six or twelve-point lead (archaic usage)

NOUN, COUNTABLE slug, blank LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
slug (Linotype or Ludlow) produced with no characters: casting blank slugs

NOUN, COUNTABLE space LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
word spaces and quads: usu well below character shoulder height: typical 0.750"

EQUIVALENT TERM stick LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
informal term for composing stick

NOUN, COUNTABLE stone LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
working surface for assembling pages of type: made from stone/marble/cast iron

NOUN, COUNTABLE thick space LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
a word space equal to one-third of the em [US: 3-to-em space]

NOUN, COUNTABLE thin space LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
a word space equal to one-fifth of the em [US: five-to-em space]

NOUN, COUNTABLE triple caps case LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
upper case with three sets of divisions

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE type LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
the relief surface from which words are printed: individual letters or slugs

NOUN, COUNTABLE type cabinet LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
storage rack for type cases. May have 1, 2 or (rare) 3 columns of cases, 17 to 24 cases per column

NOUN, COUNTABLE type case LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
storage drawer for handset type; up to 98 divisions for letters, figures, punctuation and spaces

NOUN, COUNTABLE type case frame LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
a rack to carry type cases but with open framework, often sloping top

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE type height LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
height-to-paper: from foot to face: Anglo-American 0.918" (23.32 mm)

NOUN, COUNTABLE type high gauge LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
device to measure height of block or type: simple U tool to dial readout gauge

NOUN, COUNTABLE typeface . . . . . 2 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
the raised surface of the type, the part that prints, is its face

NOUN, COUNTABLE upper case . . . . 1 LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
the upper, or rearmost of a pair of cases, holding the less used characters

NOUN, COUNTABLE word break LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
a hyphenation, where word is divided rather than being carried whole to next line

NOUN, COUNTABLE word space LETTERPRESS COMPOSING
the space-types normally used for inter-word spaces: thick, mid and thin

NOUN, COUNTABLE brass circle & oval2 STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
typesetting device often used by stampmakers for company seals and official-looking stamps

VERB cast . . . . . . . 3 STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
pour stereo metal into the casting box, one internal surface carrying the matrix, making stereotype

NOUN, COUNTABLE casting board STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
hard pulpboard with ribs, placed over the matrix and gauges, forming the ribbed back of stereotype

NOUN, COUNTABLE casting box STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
cast-iron moulding box: the stereo matrix is placed inside surrounded by casting gauges

NOUN, COUNTABLE casting gauges STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
steel strips placed around the matrix for casting. Form edges of cast, control stereo thickness

NOUN, COUNTABLE cliche [klishay] STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
French word for stereotype: a moulded copy

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE flong STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
thick paper-like material, either dry or moist, pressed over type to make a stereotype matrix

NOUN, COUNTABLE matrix . . . . . . 2 STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
sheet of material with impression of typeset in it, usu moulded under pressure

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE plaster matrix STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
the plaster-cast matrix process places no pressure on the type and produces a grainless stereo

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE rubber stamp making STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
a traditional sideline for general printers, using types, matrix, raw rubber, glue and wood mounts

NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE rubber stereos STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
rubber stereotypes, made like rubber stamps, basis for flexographic printing eg on plastic bags

NOUN, COUNTABLE tail of matrix STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS
length of hard paper pasted to edge of matrix to extend it to the mouth of the casting box

The definitions and formats in this work Copyright © E. Michael Isaachsen 2000.

Persons wishing to use these are asked to contact the author at Melbourne Museum of Printing.

Comments and suggestions about terms and definitions will be very welcome.

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