This week I’ve been occupied with (finally) putting away all the display mats I bought last year at the Anderson and Skyline matrix auctions. They have been cluttering up the shop since last summer with their variety of packaging. I…
Category: Kevin
Converting the Outline to a Pantograph Template
In the process of cutting a matrix for the 18-point @ I made up to go with Swing Bold, I need to make a template to run the pantograph tracer against. The edge of the template has to be high…
Matrix Making: Handling Ink Gain
Letterpress printing has a property called “ink gain” where the inked area left on the printed sheet is a tiny bit larger than the type used to do the printing. Because of this, when designing type (which includes designing the…
Designing Swing Bold @ 18 point
Having decided to use my pantograph to try making a display matrix for my Monotype caster, and having chosen to make an at-sign (@) to match 18-point Swing Bold, the next task was to actually examine other letters in this…
Making a Display Matrix, but Which One?
It seems natural for me, as a first project using my new pantograph engraver, to try making a matrix. Rather than designing a whole new family of typefaces (or even a single typeface), I decided to make a single character.…
From drought to downpour
We’ve had several weeks here with essentially no rain, and the garden has been looking rather sad. I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, and basil around May 24th, with promise of rain (finally!) in the forecast but it did not materialize,…
More information on Matrix pneumatic valves
This week I was having another look at the pneumatic solenoid valves I want to use to run my Monotype from a computer. I was somewhat disappointed that the valves I had were the Normally Open (N/O) type and designed…
Cleaning up the pantograph
The Gorton 3U pantograph engraver/mill I just bought needed a bit of fixing up. Some of the bearings in the mechanism were loose, things were dry (of oil) and pretty dirty, and there was a drive belt missing. I have…
More Equipment!
The main reason for my visit to Don Black last Friday was to pick up a new (to me) machine. This is a Gorton 3U pantograph mill/engraver, which turned up when Don and Craig were reorganizing their stock. This machine…
Monomatic Parts
I got a big lot of what appeared to be justification wedges for a Monotype composition caster from Don Black last week, many of them brand new, still in the protective plastic dip from the factory. It turns out, however,…
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