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The general working of the Ludlow machines

Ludlows were completely operated by hand. The machine allows the use of type up to 90 points, making it the preferred machine for headlines and posters.

The general working of Linotypes and Intertypes

The machine mainly consists of a large workbench on top (nr 1). This provids space to the operator to set the text. The text was inserted by hand in the middle of the machine (nr 3), after which the operator had to clamp the matrices firmly with the handle. The Ludlow casted a slug in lead, wich then can be used in the printing press.

a ludlow compsing stick

The output of the machine are 'slugs', lines of type in lead. Those slugs can have different dimensions and type sizes on them, depending on the design of the page. Note that the type is mirrored. This is because the Linotype is NOT used for printing. It sets type, just like you would do with Microsoft Word. The slugs have to be taken to a printing press, where they are inked and where the letters are printed on paper.

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