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Monotype Composition Caster

Technical documents. Most of the Lanston Monotype type specimens and matrix information on CircuitousRoot.

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Monotype Monomatic and Monomatic II Caster

[NOTHING YET] But see Rich Hopkins' film Casting a Font of Type.

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General Monotype Literature

High-level and/or historical accounts of the Monotype companies and products which span two or more casters.

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Monotype Casting Literature Online

An annotated list of the places online where literature on Monotype composing and non-composing casting machines may be found.

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KMT Automatic Typesetting Machine

These machines, while clearly derived from the Monotype Composition Caster, represented a substantial additional engineering effort. They were adapted to compose in Japanese, with extraordinarily large matrix cases (up to 4,992 matrices, vs. 225 for a standard Monotype case). They were driven from 6-level paper tape.

Koike Manufacturing Co., Ltd. built what is perhaps the most diverse range of hot metal equipment of any company in history. Besides this K.M.T. Automatic Typesetting Machine, the machines they built included:

Tokyo Mfg. Co., F.A.M. Composing Typecaster

Curiously, I have not yet found a reference to this machine in Japanese sources, only Chinese.

Produced by the Tokyo Kikei Seisakusho (in traditional Chinese rendered 東京機械製作所, simplified 东京机械制作所, pinyin Dōngjīng jīxiè zhìzuòsuǒ ).

There had been a Tokyo Manufacturing Company Thompson-derived caster circa 1929. I do not know if this one is related to that; it's a big step from a Thompson clone to a composing typecaster. Note, however, that there are certain features of this machine which are very much like the Monotype Composition Caster (it has, for example, a pot elevating lever which looks just like a Monotype Composition Caster's).

ZZP-101 (China, 1978)

ZZP-101 ( 漢文自動鑄排機 or 中文自動鑄排機 ). A Chinese-language composing typecaster based on the general principles of the Monotype Composition Caster (unlike the earlier ZSY-101). By the Shanghai Xinhua Printing Factory, Shanhai Printing Techniques Research Center, and the Shaanxi Xianyang Type Caster Factory / 陝西咸陽鑄字機廠 / Shǎnxī xiányáng zhùzì jī chǎng [formerly the Hefengyong Type Caster Factory].

There is some conflicting information about this machine. On the one hand, it is said to be a "Chinese version of the Monotype" (unlike the earlier ZSY-101 composing typecaster, which was not. But it is also said to have been produced in three versions (flat matrix case, cylindrical matrix case, "honeycomb" matrix case [I'm not sure what that means]). No Monotype ever had cylindrical or honeycomb matrix cases. Also, the matrix cases were said to be "non-modifiable" (which is another difference from the Monotype). The matrix cases contained 7,452 matrices (4,782 Song font characters, 2,430 bold Heiti font characters, 240 calligraphic kaishu font characters, and roman characters and punctuation).

Electrotypograph

[This is just a place-holder so far. This machine is covered in Huss (Cat. no. 172, pp. 184-185) and referred to by Thompson (1904). It is notable as a telegraphically controlled composing typecasting system. ]

Goodson Graphotype

[This is just a place-holder so far; see Huss for more information.]

Not to be confused with the ../../ Graphotype used to produce plates for the Addressograph machine.

Oddur

[This is just a place-holder so far.] Huss lists the Oddur Type-Bar Machine as a keyboard-operated type-casting machine. by Oddur V. Sigurdsson of Iceland. Corporate directories list James O. Clephane as the President and a Director of the Oddur Machine Co. in the US.

Tachytype Caster-Composer

[This is just a place-holder so far. This machine is covered in Huss (Cat. no. 154, pp. 169-170) and referred to by Thompson (1904). It is notable for its use of tape control and unit-set type. ]

Not to be confused with the Tachytype Impresssion Slug Caster, also by Frank A. Johnson.

Sugimoto (by 1920)

Developed circa 1920 (by 1921 definitely) by 杉本京太 / SUGIMOTO Kyōta (1882 - 1972), who had previously developed the first Japanese typewriter and an associated type casting machine. It would seem to have had at least some success, as it appears in advetisements through at least 1930. t was granted US patent 1,364,593 (Filed March 3, 1920. Issued 1921-01-04 to Kyota Sugimoto. Not assigned.)

RÉN / Chinese Manual Casting Machine (1952)

Bgun in 1952 by 仁百尊 / RÉN bǎizūn, along with the Beijing Xinhua Printing Factory and the Zhonghua Books Printing Factory (Shanghai). This machine was called either the 手選中文鑄排機 / Shǒu xuǎn zhōngwén zhù pái jī / "Manual Composing Caster for Chinese Characters" or the 漢文手動鑄排機 / [ ? ] / "Chinese Manual Casting Machine"

It employed a flat bed of matrices which were picked up to be positioned against a nozzle.

For later work (which might or might not have been related; I'm not sure) see also the ZSY-101 型手動鑄排機 / Xíng shǒudòng zhù pái jī by the Shanghai Printing Techniques Research Center ( 上海印刷技術研究所 ) and the Hefengyong Type Caster Factory in 1966, which used a cylinder of matrices instead.

ZSY-101 (China, 1966)

By the Shanghai Printing Techniques Research Center and the Hefengyong Type Caster Factory. A cylinder of matrices which were positioned against a nozzle. 4,608 matrices. Used aluminum matrices. Four body sizes: 7 3/8, 9, 10 1/2, and 12 point. 37 to 180 em measure. Claimed speed of 75 characters/minute.

Sinotype (1926)

Developed in China by 王窿佑 / WÁNG Longyòu, but never beyond the experimental state. Called the 華文排燒機 / Huáwén pái shāo jī, but promoted in the west as the "Sinotype." Some sources (Reed 2004) say that it was modeled on the Monotype, but at present no technical information about it is known to me.

Rin-Eisha RH Composing and Casting Machine

Japan. Rin-Eisha's RH composing and casting machine” (RH型組版鋳造機 ).