Composing frame

nounStandard termPrinting

A heavy wooden or metal stand designed to hold type cases at an ergonomic angle.

This specialized piece of printshop furniture supports upper and lower type cases at the correct height and slope for a compositor to work efficiently. The lower section typically features racks or runners to store additional cases of different fonts or sizes when not in active use.

Heard on the job

Slide that italic font back into the rack and put the standard roman on the composing frame.

Also heard as

  • frame
  • rack