Stereotype (printing)
This process of creating formes was labour-intensive, costly and prevented printers from using their type, leading, furniture and chases for other work.
Furthermore, printers who underestimated demand would be forced to reset the type for subsequent print runs.
... while Nathaniel Hawthorne's publishers assumed that The Scarlet Letter (1850) would do well, printing an uncharacteristically large edition of 2,500 copies, popular demand for Hawthorne's controversial "Custom House" introduction outstripped supply, prompting Ticknor & Fields to reset the type and to reprint another 2,500 copies within two months of the first publication.
English sources often describe the process as having been invented in 1725 by William Ged, who apparently stereotyped plates for the Bible at Cambridge University before abandoning the business.
It is even possible that the process was used as early as the fifteenth century by Johannes Gutenberg or his heirs for the Mainz Catholicon.
[18]: 34 The thin electrotype shells had to be backed with type metal to a depth of 8mm to make them robust enough for use.
It was found that adding both tin and antimony led to type that was hard and therefore resistant to wear and distortion, resulting in sharp reproductions.
Low melting point is also important for the metal used for stereos as very high temperatures would damage the flongs.
[19] The golden rule for stereotyping was to have cool metal and a hot box to avoid problems with shrinkage cavities or sinks.
[19]: 48–49 In 1946, Dalgin stated that the New York Times had one hundred slug-casting machines They consumed eight tons of type metal a night.
Stereotyping was first challenged by electrotyping, which was more expensive and time-consuming, but was capable of higher quality printing.
[23] Over time, stereotype became a metaphor for any set of ideas repeated identically or with only minor changes.
In fact, cliché and stereotype were both originally printers' words, and in their printing senses became synonymous.
[24] The term stereotype derives from Greek στερεός (stereós) "solid, firm"[25] and τύπος (túpos) "blow, impression, engraved mark"[26] and in its modern sense was coined in 1798.
Dalgin provides a good overview of the mechanics of newspaper production in the middle of the 20th century, including different methods of reproduction.
