Typesetting

By Deane Barker • January 20, 2025 •

This is an outdated step in the process of creating printed text.

Let’s start with the word “type.” This specifically referred to the concept of letters. When Gutenberg created the first printing press back in the 1500s, it was referred to as “movable type,” because letters could be (literally) moved around to create different words.

Printing was formerly known as “letter pressing.” Printers would create a plate of blocks (called a “slug”), each consisting of a piece of metal with a raised letter on it. These raised letters would be inked, then pressed onto a piece of paper (or vice-versa) to leave an impression.

Therefore, a necessary step in printing was to get the letters placed in the correct order and layout.

The process of getting these plates prepared with all of the letters in place was called “setting type.” Typesetters would have cabinets full of little letter blocks (you can buy them on eBay as antiques), and they would set these blocks on a “composing stick.” They would have to set these upside down, in reverse order, so they looked correct when printed. This required patience and manual dexterity.

The Linotype machine, invented in 1884, was the begining of the end for manual typesetting. With this machine, and operator could type on a keyboard, and every keystoke would automatically place the correct block. Operators could do this a line at a time (Linotype; “line of type”) Obviously, this drastically reduced the amount of time needed to set type.

And, of course, in the era of computers, word processing, and on-demand printing, typesetting is no longer required. It is, however, still available as a “retro” or “throwback” product – several letterpress operators will use older techniques to create crafted items such as wedding invitations, etc.

Why I Looked It Up

I’m playing a video game called News Tower, which simulates the newspaper business in the 1930s. Typesetting is a necessary step to getting an article out the door, and it takes significant time.

(Given the date of invention for the Linotype machine, I think this is a bit of an anachronism. According to this article, the New York Tribune had 42 Linotype machines in operation in 1889.)

I also remember someone I worked with in the early 90s showing me her resume. It was in Times New Roman, which was a variable-width font. At the time, this was something reserved for professionals – we were still working with typewriters which were mono-spaced.

I asked how she got it to look like that, and she said she went to a printer to have it “typeset.” Of course, that printer probably just had a very early word processor and was just using the word “typesetting” as a marketing tool.