As someone who's had a long career involved with the publishing world, I found Linotype: The Film a very welcome tribute to the amazing machine that really made print accessible to the masses.
The documentary does an excellent job of presenting the allure of a mechanical behemoth that sold in huge numbers and ruled the world of print for almost 100 years. It also pays suitable tribute to the last generation of skilled operators who ran Linotype machines, and witnessed the end of an era as the machines were phased out and junked, made obsolete by the advent of cheap digital typesetting solutions.
I particularly appreciated the explanation of how the Linotype machine actually worked. As one person says, it was almost a Rube Goldberg contraption, employing complex cams, belts and chutes, delivering a squirt of hot molten metal to create each line of type. Quite amazing.
That said, I wished the movie had taken just a bit more time on the denouement of this tale. The various optical and electronic successors to the mechanical Linotype machine are mentioned, but it would have been interesting to hear how they took the world of print forward - and about what may have been lost along the way. For example, metal type being an analog process, it provides near-infinite 'resolution' - razor-sharp lettering that does have a certain unique quality.
On the other hand, digital technology did bring typesetting literally to any desktop. One consequence has been that terms like 'font' and 'typeface' became commonplace (even if often misused). The movie does touch briefly on the evolution in typefaces that the Linotype enabled. But, again, it could have gone just a bit further in talking about how that accumulated art has been evolved and popularized by the transition to digital.
Nonetheless, Linotype: The Film does well at dramatizing the story of the Linotype machine, and capturing the enthusiasm of the people still working today to keep its legacy alive. It's a lively, entertaining documentary, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in print or media in general, or with a love of clever mechanical devices for their own sake.
The documentary does an excellent job of presenting the allure of a mechanical behemoth that sold in huge numbers and ruled the world of print for almost 100 years. It also pays suitable tribute to the last generation of skilled operators who ran Linotype machines, and witnessed the end of an era as the machines were phased out and junked, made obsolete by the advent of cheap digital typesetting solutions.
I particularly appreciated the explanation of how the Linotype machine actually worked. As one person says, it was almost a Rube Goldberg contraption, employing complex cams, belts and chutes, delivering a squirt of hot molten metal to create each line of type. Quite amazing.
That said, I wished the movie had taken just a bit more time on the denouement of this tale. The various optical and electronic successors to the mechanical Linotype machine are mentioned, but it would have been interesting to hear how they took the world of print forward - and about what may have been lost along the way. For example, metal type being an analog process, it provides near-infinite 'resolution' - razor-sharp lettering that does have a certain unique quality.
On the other hand, digital technology did bring typesetting literally to any desktop. One consequence has been that terms like 'font' and 'typeface' became commonplace (even if often misused). The movie does touch briefly on the evolution in typefaces that the Linotype enabled. But, again, it could have gone just a bit further in talking about how that accumulated art has been evolved and popularized by the transition to digital.
Nonetheless, Linotype: The Film does well at dramatizing the story of the Linotype machine, and capturing the enthusiasm of the people still working today to keep its legacy alive. It's a lively, entertaining documentary, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in print or media in general, or with a love of clever mechanical devices for their own sake.