Punchcutting
Encyclopedia
In traditional typography
, punchcutting is the craft of cutting letter punches in steel from which matrices
were made in copper for type founding
in the letterpress era. Cutting punches and casting
type was the first step of traditional typesetting
. The cutting of letter punches was a highly skilled craft requiring much patience and practice. Often the designer of the type would not be personally involved in the cutting.
The initial design for type would be two dimensional, but a punch
has depth, and the three dimensional shape of the punch, as well as factors such as the angle and depth to which it was driven into the matrix
, would affect the appearance of the type on the page. The angle of the side of the punch was particularly significant.
The punchcutter begins by transferring the outline of a letter design to one end of a steel bar.
The outer shape of the punch could be cut directly, but the internal curves of a small punch were particularly difficult as it was necessary to cut deep enough and straight into the metal. While this can be done with cutting tools; a counterpunch, a type of punch used in the cutting of other punches, was often used to create the negative space
in or around a glyph
.
A counterpunch could be used to create this negative space, not just where the space was completely enclosed by the letter, but in any concavity (e.g. above and below the midbar in uppercase "H").
Of course, the counterpunch had to be harder than the punch itself. This was accomplished by heat tempering
the counterpunch and softening the punch. Such a tool solved two issues, one technical and one aesthetic
, that arose in punchcutting.
Often the same counterpunch could be used for several letters in a typeface
. For example, the negative space inside an uppercase "P
" and "R
" is usually very similar, and with the use of a counterpunch, they could be nearly identical. Counterpunches were regularly used in this way to give typefaces a more consistent look. The counterpunch would be struck into the face of the punch. The outer form of the letter is then shaped using files.
To test the punch, the punchcutter makes an imprint on a piece of paper after coating the punch with soot from an open flame. The soot
left by the flame acts like ink to create an image on the paper (a smoke proof).
Once the punches are ready a mold
could then be created from the punch by using the punch on a softer metal (such as copper
) to create a matrix
. Then, type metal
, an alloy
of lead
, antimony
, and tin
, flows into the matrix to produce a single piece of type, ready for typesetting.
One characteristic of type metal that makes it valuable for this use is that it expands as it cools, keeping the accurate dimensions of letters. This characteristic is shared by the bronze
used to cast sculpture
s, but copper-based alloys generally have melting points that are too high to be convenient for typesetting. (Water
, silicon
and bismuth
are other substances that expand on freezing.)
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
, punchcutting is the craft of cutting letter punches in steel from which matrices
Matrix (printing)
In hot metal typesetting, a matrix is a mold for casting a letter, known as a sort, used in letterpress printing....
were made in copper for type founding
Type foundry
A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Originally, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and Monotype machines designed to be printed on letterpress printers...
in the letterpress era. Cutting punches and casting
Casting
In metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process...
type was the first step of traditional typesetting
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
. The cutting of letter punches was a highly skilled craft requiring much patience and practice. Often the designer of the type would not be personally involved in the cutting.
The initial design for type would be two dimensional, but a punch
Punch (tool)
A punch is a hard metal rod with a shaped tip at one end and a blunt butt end at the other, which is usually struck by a hammer. Punches are used to drive objects, such as nails, or to form an impression of the tip on a workpiece...
has depth, and the three dimensional shape of the punch, as well as factors such as the angle and depth to which it was driven into the matrix
Matrix (printing)
In hot metal typesetting, a matrix is a mold for casting a letter, known as a sort, used in letterpress printing....
, would affect the appearance of the type on the page. The angle of the side of the punch was particularly significant.
The punchcutter begins by transferring the outline of a letter design to one end of a steel bar.
The outer shape of the punch could be cut directly, but the internal curves of a small punch were particularly difficult as it was necessary to cut deep enough and straight into the metal. While this can be done with cutting tools; a counterpunch, a type of punch used in the cutting of other punches, was often used to create the negative space
Negative space
Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, and not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space is occasionally used to artistic effect as the "real"...
in or around a glyph
Glyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
.
A counterpunch could be used to create this negative space, not just where the space was completely enclosed by the letter, but in any concavity (e.g. above and below the midbar in uppercase "H").
Of course, the counterpunch had to be harder than the punch itself. This was accomplished by heat tempering
Heat treatment
Heat treating is a group of industrial and metalworking processes used to alter the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also used in the manufacture of many other materials, such as glass...
the counterpunch and softening the punch. Such a tool solved two issues, one technical and one aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
, that arose in punchcutting.
Often the same counterpunch could be used for several letters in a typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
. For example, the negative space inside an uppercase "P
P
P is the sixteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.-Usage:In English and most other European languages, P is a voiceless bilabial plosive. Both initial and final Ps can be combined with many other discrete consonants in English words...
" and "R
R
R is the eighteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.-History:The original Semitic letter may have been inspired by an Egyptian hieroglyph for tp, "head". It was used for by Semites because in their language, the word for "head" was rêš . It developed into Greek Ρ and Latin R...
" is usually very similar, and with the use of a counterpunch, they could be nearly identical. Counterpunches were regularly used in this way to give typefaces a more consistent look. The counterpunch would be struck into the face of the punch. The outer form of the letter is then shaped using files.
To test the punch, the punchcutter makes an imprint on a piece of paper after coating the punch with soot from an open flame. The soot
Soot
Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres,...
left by the flame acts like ink to create an image on the paper (a smoke proof).
Once the punches are ready a mold
Molding (process)
Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping pliable raw material using a rigid frame or model called a pattern....
could then be created from the punch by using the punch on a softer metal (such as copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
) to create a matrix
Matrix (printing)
In hot metal typesetting, a matrix is a mold for casting a letter, known as a sort, used in letterpress printing....
. Then, type metal
Type metal
In printing, type metal refers to the metal alloys used in traditional typefounding and hot metal typesetting. Lead is the main constituent of these alloys...
, an alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, antimony
Antimony
Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
, and tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
, flows into the matrix to produce a single piece of type, ready for typesetting.
One characteristic of type metal that makes it valuable for this use is that it expands as it cools, keeping the accurate dimensions of letters. This characteristic is shared by the bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
used to cast sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
s, but copper-based alloys generally have melting points that are too high to be convenient for typesetting. (Water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
and bismuth
Bismuth
Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead...
are other substances that expand on freezing.)
See also
- Bradford Industrial MuseumBradford Industrial MuseumBradford Industrial Museum, established 1974 in Moorside Mills, Eccleshill, Bradford, United Kingdom, specializes in relics of local industry, especially printing and textile machinery, kept in working condition for regular demonstrations to the public...
- Commemorative coinCommemorative coinCommemorative coins are coins that were issued to commemorate some particular event or issue. Most world commemorative coins were issued from the 1960s onward, although there are numerous examples of commemorative coins of earlier date. Such coins have a distinct design with reference to the...
- Letterpress printingLetterpress printingLetterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image...