In traditional letterpress and stereotyping, operators pour an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony into a mold or papier-mache flong. Once cooled, the metal hardens into an exact replica of the original typeform, creating a solid plate for long press runs. The same basic action applies to linecasting machines, which inject molten metal against brass matrices to form solid lines of text.
We need to cast a new stereotype for the front page because the current one is showing heavy wear on the left column.
Related terms
Stereotype
A solid metal printing plate cast from a papier-mâché or plaster mold.
Flong
A papier-mâché mold pressed against a form of lead type to cast a solid printing plate.
Matrix
A metal mold used to cast individual type characters or entire lines of text.
Hot metal
A typesetting process that casts lines of text from molten lead alloy.