Linotype Comet 300 TTS

Fairchild TTS perforating keyboard
Fairchild TTS perforating keyboard.

Many thanks to Bill Nairn, from New Zealand, for sending in these photographs — they show a Linotype Comet 300, complete with a Fairchild operating unit attached to the linecaster’s keyboard and the perforating keyboard. The whole set-up is in full operational condition.

Says Bill: “In New Zealand, we had the opportunity to restore a Linotype Comet 300, complete with Fairchild Operating Unit (attached to the Linotype keyboard) and the perforating keyboard. Read the Full Article . . .

Last Letterpress Newspaper in Australia

Linotype operator
John English seated at a vintage Intertype machine setting next edition’s news in lead, tin and antimony at 288 degrees Celsius.

Graeme How spotted this article in an edition of the Australian trade magazine ProPrint. Visit their website here: www.proprint.com.au

TAKE A DRIVE up the scenic Waterfall Way from Bellingen, on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, towards the university city of Armidale, and when you start to breathe the cooler, fresh air at the top of the plateau you’ll find yourself in the snug town of Dorrigo. Read the Full Article . . .

Gisborne Museum, NZ

Sad sight
A sad sight to an ex hot metal man. The ‘eighth wonder of the world’ rusting away.

Graeme How sent in these pictures of a neglected Intertype and an old press from a recent visit to the Gisborne Museum of Technology and Transport in New Zealand.

Model K Elrod Restoration

Thanks largely to John Nicholson of Hamilton, NZ, the Model K Elrod which had been in storage at the Taranaki Aviation Transport And Technology Museum (TATATM), New Plymouth, is now operational.

To the writer’s knowledge, the Model K had been in the lean-to store of the museum, on a heavy wooden plank base since its arrival at the museum and never used since de-commissioning at the donor’s premises (Taranaki Newspapers Ltd., New Plymouth) around 1985. Read the Full Article . . .

Wairoa Star, 1968

Cossar Press
The Wairoa Star’s (New Zealand) Cossar B16 Flatbed reel fed Printing Press could print up to sixteen tabloid pages in one print run and with the rewind section another eight pages could be added. The press was retired in 1976 when the Wairoa Star changed to offset.

Many thanks to Graeme How for sending in these photos.

We have five pages of articles about the Wairoa Star sent in by Graeme, check the “Related Pages” menu to see the others. Read the Full Article . . .

Harry Craig

Harry Craig
Harry Craig has been working all his life on Linotype machines. Here he is, at 75 years of age, still doing photomount typesetting with a linotype 31.

Harry, from New Zealand owns and maintains three Linotype machines. Pictures sent in by his colleague, Tim Ede.

Linotype fan? Don’t miss the Linotype Chat section of the Metal Type Forum. Read the Full Article . . .