This historic attachment allowed newspaper printers to stop a press run and quickly clamp in a few lines of fresh linotype slugs without casting an entirely new stereotype plate. It was typically used for the front page to print racing results, election counts, or urgent bulletins. The text often appeared slightly misaligned or in a different typeface from the rest of the page.
Stop the run and get those election numbers into the fudge box before the final edition goes out.
Also heard as
- fudge
Related terms
Stereotype
A solid metal printing plate cast from a papier-mâché or plaster mold.
Linecasting
The automated process of casting complete lines of text in molten lead.
Chase
A heavy steel or iron frame used to hold metal type and blocks securely together for printing.
Web
A continuous roll of paper fed through a high-speed printing press.