Linotype machine
Linotipia
- Date
- 1884 · confidence medium
- Place
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Credited to
- Ottmar Mergenthaler
- Field
- Communication
What it is
A typesetting machine that casts an entire line of metal type from matrices assembled via keyboard, replacing letter-by-letter manual composition for newspapers and books.
It was the typesetting standard from the late 19th century until replaced by phototypesetting and digital composition in the 1970s-1980s.
What it led to
- Mass production of cheaper newspapers and books
- Acceleration of the publishing industry until phototypesetting