Fototypsætningsmaskiner

Fototypsætning, often anglicized as phototypesetting, was a typesetting technology that emerged in the mid-20th century and played a significant role in the transition from traditional hot metal typesetting to digital methods. It involved using photographic principles to create typefaces for printing. Instead of casting molten metal, phototypesetting machines used light to expose characters onto photographic paper or film.

The process typically involved a master font, often on a glass disc or strip, containing all the characters of a typeface. A light source would then illuminate a chosen character, and a lens system would project and enlarge or reduce it onto a photosensitive medium. This medium would then be developed, similar to a photograph, to produce the final type characters. These characters could then be assembled into pages, which would be photographed to create printing plates.

Fototypsætning offered several advantages over hot metal typesetting, including greater font flexibility, the ability to easily change type size and style, and a cleaner, sharper appearance of the printed text. It was widely adopted in the printing and publishing industries for decades, enabling faster and more efficient production of books, newspapers, and magazines. However, with the advent of digital typesetting and desktop publishing in the late 20th century, phototypsetting was largely superseded by more advanced and cost-effective technologies.