Danila Rygovskiy,, Charlotte Biszewski, Jörgen Loot, Merilin Metsamaa, Paweł Schulz
(TYPA printing and paper art centre)
In this article, TYPA printing and paper art centre shares its experience of combining old typographical machines (specifically, the Monotype composition caster) with new digital technologies within a creative research project. Hopefully, it can serve as guidance for other artists and practitioners willing to work on similar projects. It also shows how practical applications help us understand the industrial skills of the past and observe machine typesetting as a part of industrial archeological research – a study of the industrial past from its physical remains.
TYPA has been home to a Monotype composition caster and a keyboard since its founding in 2010. Both machines originate from a print shop in Tartu, where they were used to compose various ceremonial books during Soviet times. Even during industrial printing the Monotype system was rare in Estonia, and, unfortunately, no specialists remain with the knowledge to revive it. Nevertheless, the museum managed to preserve it in a good enough condition for future use. In 2023, the centre acquired two more Monotype machines along with a decent collection of mats, keyboards, a supply of paper ribbon and other spare parts. These items came from the UK as a generous donation from the family of the late printer and poet George Miller of Hedge Sparrow Press, who ran a private print shop in Shropshire. Thanks to the efforts of TYPA’s technician Jörgen Loot and letterpress specialist Ian Gabb (Royal College, UK), the Monotype machine was restored.
Initially, TYPA’s goal was to produce new type for hand composition. As a cultural institution, TYPA is required to protect its historic type, but at the same time this type is needed for various creative and educational projects (e.g., by artists in residence). Unfortunately, there have been cases where type has been damaged due to incorrect press settings or mishandling. With a revived composition caster and keyboard, TYPA could finally achieve the goal of creating type for everyday use. However, the Monotype machine was also designed to compose large and beautiful bodies of text. The next, quite logical step was therefore to recreate the entire process of producing a book using the Monotype.
It was a challenging project for the entire team. TYPA has printed books before, but only occasionally. One example is The Little Prince in English and Estonian, composed on a Linotype and printed eight years ago. More recently, TYPA contributed to the second issue of the poetry magazine Simple Machines, produced with magnesium clichés for the text body and original wood type for decorations. The Monotype book, however, had to be written, designed, composed, and printed entirely from scratch, effectively recreating the processes once common in the hot type era.
INSPIRATION
What would a book composed on a Monotype contain? In this case, the format came before the content. We decided to make our book a tribute to the origins of the Estonian literary tradition, as 2025 marks the 500th anniversary of the Estonian book. At the same time, the book is dedicated to the Monotype itself, which is one of the main reasons for its creation. As the memory of the Monotype fades, it becomes all the more important to explain the ABCs of the system. Hence, the Monotype ABC.
Apart from that, we were inspired by illustrations, composed with Monotype characters, reminiscent of ASCII art (pic. 1-3).
Given that, this book is not a traditional ABC book but rather an artistic exploration of the many possibilities offered by the Monotype casting machine. At first, we considered creating a conventional educational ABC book and reviewed several appealing examples, even experimenting with a cat theme (pic. 4). In the end, however, we decided it would be more meaningful to accompany this visual journey with vocabulary that offers insight into the workings of the Monotype keyboard and casting system.
PREPARING TO CAST
Putting together an ABC book on the Monotype is not an easy task. It is a highly complex machine that normally requires detailed technical literature to explain its operation. Since this is an Estonian book, it should also be in Estonian. The challenge, however, was that we struggled to find suitable terminology in Estonian for describing the Monotype, as almost no literature exists in the language. Our only Estonian sources were Soviet text books translated from Russian. This was not a problem in itself, but these books described a Soviet clone of the Monotype (pic. 5). The Estonian manuals provided had fewer parts and work processes described than could be found in English. Apparently, Monotype clones were rare in Estonia, and local typesetters did not require many manuals. By contrast, we have found plenty of training materials on the Soviet clone of the Linotype system in Estonian, while information on the Monotype is limited to brief introductions.
Despite these setbacks we decided to follow the ABC format strictly, which meant that every letter of the alphabet had to be used, but only once. Finding Monotype terms for each letter proved challenging. Some letters, such as K or M, offered many useful words, whereas Estonian letters such as Ö or Ä, puzzled us for quite some time. Additionally, we opted to include parallel English translations and incorporate letters not used in Estonian, such as Q and W. The idea of moving beyond the narrow Monotype focus was tempting, since it would have been much easier to select words related to letterpress or hand composition (we could even have reprinted some old vocabulary).
After much discussion, however, we successfully created a comprehensive ABC list of Monotype terms. Sometimes we included words that came from hand composing, such as sibuldama (Eng. to jumble), but they are relevant for Monotype. You can spill a Monotype composition and the consequences would be much worse than with a hand-composed form, as you will have to pick up and sort not only type but tiny Monotype reglettes too. Besides, sibuldama sounds funny, because it derives from the word sibul (Eng. onion). If an Anglophone compositor spills type, they make a pie. If it happens to an Estonian compositor, they toss an onion heap.
The last letters of the alphabet were, probably, the most challenging. For example, the word zero refers to a Monotype unit system. Units are needed to calculate the correct width of letters. One unit equals 0,0007685 inches. We used the word zero to represent this number. Another challenging letter happened to be Ž. In the ABC book, it represents letters with accents, not a specific term ( Our Monotype played a practical joke on us: the letter Ž appears only as an illustration, while in the text it is rendered as a regular Z. We simply did not have the corresponding matrix). In other cases, we referred to routines, like öötöö (Eng. night work).
Once the text was complete, TYPA’s designer, Merilin Metsamaa, began working on the design. This is a crucial moment where digital media must be translated into the Monotype system. Merilin used Adobe InDesign, as well as Adobe Illustrator to make the illustrations. TYPA’s engineer, Jörgen Loot, then imported these illustrations (saved as JPGs; for texts, we used PDFs, but texts did not require an ASCII tool) into the ASCII Artist Tool software, which transformed them into ASCII art. Of course, the computer screen does not correspond to reality. It would have been easier to manually calculate the exact proportions from the beginning, but this is something we had to learn by trial and error.
When designing the book, it was important to understand the limits of the Monotype caster capabilities in terms of line length and the resources (font sizes available and corresponding wedges). In one instance, we were caught in a discussion about what to do, as no uppercase Ü was available. A reader will notice in the book that there are exactly two italic uppercase Ü letters used – this little detail changed the whole design of the Monotype terms pages.
PAPER RIBBONS
The Monotype system consists of two machines: a caster and a keyboard. Normally, text is entered on the keyboard, where it is encoded onto a perforated paper ribbon. Each keystroke produces a specific combination of holes in the paper. When the text is complete, the ribbon is removed from the keyboard and attached to the caster.
The ribbon then moves along the top of the caster, where compressed air is blown through the perforations. The machine registers the points where air passes through the paper and decodes them. This information directs the movement of the die-case that contains all the matrices. The die-case brings the required matrix into position above the nozzle, through which the machine injects a portion of molten lead, casting a single letter. In this way, the paper ribbon controls the entire casting process.
Composing an ASCII art on Monotype keyboard might seem like a nightmare for an inexperienced operator. None of us were formally trained by Monotype, but we had an ace up our sleeve: the Welliver system. It is a software and a hardware tool that creates perforations on paper ribbon without a need for a keyboard. TYPA received the hardware component together with other items from George Miller. The software, however, came on a burned-out floppy disk and could not be retrieved. Jörgen Loot had to write his own program from scratch, which creates an electronic ribbon and converts it into a paper ribbon. Since Jörgen’s programme operates according to the same principles as the classic software, we will continue calling it Welliver throughout this article.
Monotype matrices are assembled in a square die-case, where they form a grid. Each matrix carries only one mark, which can be a letter, a number, or any other sign used in written language. They can also differ in style (e.g., regular or cursive), in case (uppercase or lowercase), and in other parameters. Therefore, every sign has a specific position with coordinates in the grid. One side of the die-case is engraved with a row of letters, and the other side with a row of numbers. Locating a matrix in the grid resembles the game Battleship: you choose one letter and one number to find a point on the field.
Matrices need to be positioned in the die-case in a specific way that corresponds to the keyboard layout. With the Welliver system, you must manually insert the matrix grids into the software, which then enables you to perforate the ribbons. In this way, the software can translate the electronic text into a ribbon output.
THE BOOK OF LEAD
Once the ribbons were ready, casting proceeded smoothly under Jörgen’s supervision (pic. 6). It was essential to check that the type conformed to the industry standards described in the Monotype manuals (i.e. the correct type height). The next steps involved separating the composed type into pages, securing the forms with cord, and transferring them to the press (pic. 7). This is meticulous work, as even a single wrong movement can result in the composition falling apart, which then has to be either recast or painstakingly reset. Typesetting cabinets with slanted tops are very helpful as the weight of the upper letters supports the entire composition.
Checking for typos and other errors in the composition is necessary because various technical issues can arise during the casting process. The machine can replace one letter with another or cast too much spacing material. Letters can also break in the matrix form and appear without faces. Some mistakes occur when you set a printing layout, such as when type spills, and you have to manually recompose the text. Therefore, it’s necessary to proofread the layout before you start printing a signature. We acknowledge that there are still a few typos in the book that were left unnoticed.
Type casting must consider the peculiarities of local typography. Historically, Estonian typography was based on two type heights – the German (23,6 mm) and Russian (25,1 mm) ones. TYPA’s caster was delivered to Tartu in 1965, during the period of Soviet occupation. At this time, Estonian print shops were using Russian height. The company attuned the machine to local needs, which is why TYPA’s caster produces the Russian height.
BOOK AS AN OBJECT
It was essential to design the book using not only the materials produced during the casting process but also those that would normally be discarded. These included the perforated paper tape, which cannot be reused, and the thread used to secure the composition after casting and during storage.
The colour scheme of the book was inspired by the Monotype keyboard, which features five main colours: red, light blue, green, black, and white. The exact shades varied depending on the keyboard model, and their original purpose was to distinguish between character types (uppercase and lowercase) as well as function and space keys. The book’s covers are red and green, with creamy white pages inside. The text is printed in black (Estonian) and red (English). To unify the design, we also incorporated perforated paper tape as a decorative element (pic. 8). The text is printed in Bembo typeface, and Gill Sans was used for some of the illustrations.
The perforated tape comes in long rolls, offering ample flexibility. In the book, it serves as a dust jacket, symbolically linking the caster and the keyboard. This design creates a more interactive experience, inviting readers to imagine what the holes represent or even to decipher their meaning. In fact, this is entirely possible: one can use tools for reading perforations or consult a manual with perforation schemes. A curious reader might even discover an Easter egg hidden in the book. On one side, each spread presents a letter accompanied by a corresponding word and its explanation. On the opposite side, there is an image, element, or form in the style of ASCII art, created entirely with the Monotype typeface to showcase its possibilities.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this book is to serve as an inspiration for artists, designers, and letterpress enthusiasts. It aims to showcase the methods that accelerated the design and printing processes, ultimately influencing how these practices are conducted today. Readers will be encouraged to see, feel, and experience these techniques firsthand.
Designing this book was an experience full of surprises, compromises, and valuable lessons, but above all, it was a journey into the world of Monotype and cast type. Once the design is completed on screen, it is tempting to think that most of the work is done. We quickly realised how naive that assumption was. What followed were hours, days, and weeks of casting page compositions, making letterpress proofs on the FAG press, proofreading, and creating new compositions with corrections. Even a single moment of clumsiness could result in jumbled type that had to be patiently regathered, a process that could take hours.
There are no shortcuts in letterpress printing, and the same is true of Monotype. It demands disciplined thinking and precise calculation. Yet once these processes are mastered, the work begins to flow more smoothly and even becomes enjoyable, especially as the final product starts to take shape.
Acknowledgements
The project “The Artistic Rediscovery of Machine Typesetting” has been funded by the Estonian Ministry of Culture’s creative research programme in the cultural and creative fields.
Authors:
Charlotte Biszewski – letterpress specialist at TYPA
Jörgen Loot – TYPA’s master engineer
Merilin Metsamaa – designer at TYPA
Danila Rygovskiy – collections manager at TYPA, project lead
Paweł Schultz – type designer, ESC long-term volunteer at TYPA
