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In 1886, an inventor named Ottmar Mergenthaler was the first to realize the vision of an automated typesetting machine, speeding up exponentially what had been until then a slow, tedious hand process of setting lead type one single character at a time. This machine would nothing less than revolutionize the printing and publishing industry, uncorking a new wave of communication much as the internet revolutionized our generation. The cutting edge machine that Mergenthaler invented became known as the Linotype (Line o’ type), referring to it’s ability to set metal type an entire line at a time. It was incredibly complex, with many moving parts and took a skilled operator to work it. It immediately became ubiquitous in publishing and print ...