I saw your entry of this machine in the TWDB. Could you elaborate (here or there) what the differences are between a composer and a regular Selectric? I specifically wonder what those extra knobs do.
a normal Selectric is a Monospaced typewriter that is either one type pitch (usually 10 pitch for early Selectric 1’s and invariably 12 pitch for something like the Personal Typewriter version of 1984) or switchable between 10 and 12 pitch. It also only has a single linespace unit (but can increment in 2 or 3 values of that unit).
A composer is a Cold Typesetting machine which has a Proportional escapement meant for “points” units of escapement from 6 to 12 point font sizes in 5 different languages (the dial on the left). It can also justify text and format columns of type (dial on the right). Everything including the linespacing can be adjusted in 1 point increments so you can adjust both the leading and kerning of the type. It was meant for setting type for books, magazines, newspapers and other stuff that required professional typesetting before the days of Page Layout programs and laser printers.
Mothra does gorgeous work. It looks typeset, aside from a little irregularity in the vertical position of characters.
Neat typeface.
Hi Mr. Munk,
I saw your entry of this machine in the TWDB. Could you elaborate (here or there) what the differences are between a composer and a regular Selectric? I specifically wonder what those extra knobs do.
a normal Selectric is a Monospaced typewriter that is either one type pitch (usually 10 pitch for early Selectric 1’s and invariably 12 pitch for something like the Personal Typewriter version of 1984) or switchable between 10 and 12 pitch. It also only has a single linespace unit (but can increment in 2 or 3 values of that unit).
A composer is a Cold Typesetting machine which has a Proportional escapement meant for “points” units of escapement from 6 to 12 point font sizes in 5 different languages (the dial on the left). It can also justify text and format columns of type (dial on the right). Everything including the linespacing can be adjusted in 1 point increments so you can adjust both the leading and kerning of the type. It was meant for setting type for books, magazines, newspapers and other stuff that required professional typesetting before the days of Page Layout programs and laser printers.
Thanks for the explanation!