All-Purpose Linotype

The All-Purpose Linotype is a specialized machine that retains the casting capabilities of the original Linotype but requires manual assembly of matrices. Unlike the standard Linotype, which automatically casts a line of type (a slug) from matrices selected via a keyboard, the All-Purpose Linotype involves hand-assembling the matrices in a composing stick. Justification, or filling out the line to a uniform width, is achieved using blank matrices of varying sizes. Once assembled and justified, the line of matrices is manually placed into the machine for the casting operation, producing a slug. The matrices are then distributed by hand. This machine was a variation on the earlier Linotype and Intertype slugcasting typesetters, which were foundational in mechanical typesetting before the widespread adoption of photocomposition.1234