Friday, Nov. 4, 2022 -- Giant Caster Matrices
A couple of comments, I found the missing "ff" ligature, I had borrowed it to set up a homemade Giant Caster matrix holder. I should have left an I.O.U. note in the box. Also, I mention that there are three standard sizes of holders for these matrices, well, English Monotype has three holders, I do not know how many the original Giant Caster had for casting.
After arranging the matrices to confirm a full set, the caster person has to decide what sequence to use. One practice is to cast in ascending or descending order by the width of the type. Then, at the end of it all, to font the new type, there is a bit of work to arrange it alphabetically. The other school of thought is to cast in alphabetical order. When casting foundry matrices, I usually do the latter. Each matrix usually requires a complete readjustment of the alignment, so there is not a lot of time saved by casting in terms of set width. I imagine in the old days, foundries would just cast full lines of each letter and pull what they needed from inventory.
Friday, Nov. 4, 2022 -- Giant Caster Matrices
A couple of comments, I found the missing "ff" ligature, I had borrowed it to set up a homemade Giant Caster matrix holder. I should have left an I.O.U. note in the box. Also, I mention that there are three standard sizes of holders for these matrices, well, English Monotype has three holders, I do not know how many the original Giant Caster had for casting.
After arranging the matrices to confirm a full set, the caster person has to decide what sequence to use. One practice is to cast in ascending or descending order by the width of the type. Then, at the end of it all, to font the new type, there is a bit of work to arrange it alphabetically. The other school of thought is to cast in alphabetical order. When casting foundry matrices, I usually do the latter. Each matrix usually requires a complete readjustment of the alignment, so there is not a lot of time saved by casting in terms of set width. I imagine in the old days, foundries would just cast full lines of each letter and pull what they needed from inventory.