Intertype
A typecasting machine closely resembling the linotype, and using the same matrices.
Intertype: the linotype's practical American competitor
The Intertype is a hot-metal typecasting machine that casts complete lines of type in a single operation, much like the Linotype. It accepts the same standard matrices and uses the same basic mechanism: an operator composes text on a keyboard, the matrices assemble in a line, molten lead flows into a mold beneath them, and a solid slug emerges ready to print. The machine was manufactured by the Intertype Corporation, founded in Brooklyn in 1911 as a direct alternative to the dominant Linotype, which was patented and controlled by Mergenthaler's company.
Because Intertype matrices were interchangeable with Linotype matrices, printshops could use the same typeface libraries on either machine. This compatibility was crucial to the Intertype's market position. The two machines performed nearly identically in operation, though engineers made different design choices in casting mechanisms, circulation systems, and mechanical details. Some printshops preferred one over the other based on local repair support, operator familiarity, or marginal differences in speed or maintenance demands.
Where the Intertype sat in the trade
From the 1920s through the 1960s, Intertype competed directly with Linotype and the smaller Ludlow machine. A typical newspaper or book shop might operate a mix of both Linotype and Intertype machines side by side. The Intertype never outsold the Linotype, which held roughly 80 percent of the market share in its peak years, but it captured enough jobs to remain a standard fixture in medium to large composing rooms across North America and Europe.
Like all hot-metal casters, the Intertype required constant maintenance of its heating system, careful handling of molten lead alloy (typically held at around 700 degrees Fahrenheit), and skilled hand-cleaning of hardened metal waste from the casting chamber. Common wear issues included matrix slugging (lead buildup on letter faces), elevator jamming, and sprue (the channel feeding the mold) erosion.
The Intertype became obsolete in the 1970s and 1980s as offset lithography and phototypesetting displaced hot-metal composition entirely. Today the machines are industrial artifacts, valued by printing historians and letterpress enthusiasts, but the name has largely faded from active trade vocabulary.