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phototypesetting

phototypesetting

8.5
A way of making printed pages by taking photos of letters instead of using metal type
  • noun
  • /ˌfoʊtoʊˈtaɪpsɛtɪŋ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : fotocomposición
  • The invention of phototypesetting revolutionized the printing industry by eliminating the need for metal type.

Examples

  • The composing trade was widely interpreted during the 1970s and 1980s as having been deskilled and "feminized" as a result of the introduction of computerized phototypesetting.

    Academic text (2016)
  • The typeface was among the first slab-serif alphabets for the phototypesetting industry.

    Blog text (22)
  • During the 1970s, phototypesetting became the standard method for producing printed materials efficiently.

  • Many newspapers transitioned to phototypesetting to keep up with the demand for faster publication times.

How Modern

phototypesetting
  • Archaic
8.5
typecasting
  • Archaic
9.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

phototypesetting = typesetting (semi-transparent) = photo + type + set + ing

The word is built transparently from the technical base 'typesetting' with the prefix 'photo-', but the full meaning is specialized and not fully obvious to an average learner.

Etymology

Phototypesetting combines photo- ('light' or 'photograph'), type ('letter'), and setting ('arranging'). So it literally means arranging letters with light, which is why it names a printing method that uses photographic processes instead of metal type.