A Journey through Printing History

Wake-up Call from a 50-Year Slumber

One of the pivotal turning points in printing was marked by the Linotype typesetting machine. Constructed around 1886 by the German-American watchmaker Ottmar Mergenthaler (1854-1899), this machine automated and significantly accelerated the typesetting process. With a Linotype, letter matrices entered on a keyboard could be automatically set into entire lines and then cast as lead lines. The process ended with the error-free return of the matrices to the magazine, allowing for continued use. This replaced the cumbersome hand typesetting that had been largely unchanged since Gutenberg's innovations in the 15th century.
The Enter Technikwelt collection includes such a Linotype typesetting machine. It was in operation at the St. Paul printing house in Fribourg until the 1970s. After being decommissioned, it was forgotten for 50 years until it was rediscovered and restored by the Enter Technikgruppe.

The "Gutenberg" section of the Technikgruppe, consisting of Guy Flüeli, Rosa Schmid, Uschi Grüson, and Alois Balmer, took on the restoration of this Linotype in the spring of 2025 and worked for about ten months on its restoration and the general update of the permanent exhibition. To honor their great commitment, Foundation Board President Felix Kunz and Exhibition Director Felix Wirth expressed heartfelt thanks to the four volunteer helpers at the beginning of the event. Guy Flüeli received a 3D-printed pepper mill in the shape of a rocket for his extraordinary efforts in getting the Linotype operational and the exhibition renovations.

The Music of a Typesetting Machine

Following the acknowledgments, Peter Schiltknecht, head of the Satzwerkstatt Solothurn, greeted the attendees with a short welcome adress. In his brief speech, he first emphasized the importance of printing technology in general and then focused on a particular aspect of the Linotype. Since he was 18 and first worked with a Linotype, the music of this machine has been in his ears, said Peter Schiltknecht. In an onomatopoeic manner, he then shared the sounds of the Linotype with the audience. He described the noise of the chains, the typing of the keyboard, the clapping sound during casting, or the cascading sounds of the matrices.

Liquid Lead in Action

After the resonant greeting, visitors eagerly went to the second floor to see the printing history exhibition and the Linotype in action. Due to the large number of visitors, three groups were formed, each attending a 20-minute demonstration and two tours. Guy Flüeli, a printing engineer by profession and a volunteer at Typorama in Bischofszell, thrilled the audience as he set the machine in motion and began melting the lead. During his explanations, he repeatedly pressed keys or pulled levers until the brass matrices fell and the lead line was ejected. Indeed, the operations of the Linotype sounded like a rhythmic machine orchestra! The audience listened intently—or spontaneously began sharing their own memories of the machine, as there were surprisingly many eyewitnesses present who had set with liquid lead themselves. The Linotype will be regularly demonstrated at Enter Technikwelt in the future; the dates are listed in the annual program at enter.ch/events.

From the First Cave Paintings to Modern Newspaper Printing

While one group listened to the sounds of the Linotype, the other two groups participated in short tours of the printing history exhibition. Rosa Schmid, a trained typesetter and "Monotaster", and Uschi Grüson, a mathematician and former project manager at Ciba Photochemie, illustrated the significance of book printing for human history to the visitors. Starting from the first cave paintings, they drew a line leading to the printing revolution in the 15th century. This revolution was triggered, among other things, by Gutenberg's hand casting device, which for the first time allowed individual letters to be made from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony. Together with a modified spindle press, previously used for winemaking, Gutenberg was able to greatly accelerate the printing process.

To illustrate the stark contrast to previous printing methods, the exhibition now includes a monastic scriptorium, depicting a monk painstakingly copying a Bible. In the background, a faint light shines from a church window, kindly donated by Solothurn artist Roman Candio. As former director of Hallwag AG and president of the esig+ foundation, Alois Balmer then introduced the audience to the field of newspaper printing. He discussed various printing processes, starting with the oldest planographic processes like lithography (stone printing), and explained the workings of relief, intaglio, offset, and screen printing. He also explained the different typesetting machines, such as the Monotype, a machine that could cast individual letters for the first time, representing an important innovation after line-casting machines like the Linotype. The Monotype was used for high-quality prints, said Alois Balmer. The Ludlow casting machine was popular for newspapers for setting titles and headlines due to its large matrices. Finally, he demonstrated the workings of rotary presses with various authentic models, which by the end of the 20th century could produce hundreds of thousands of newspapers quickly. These machines, further developed, are indispensable for large print runs.

The New Lead of the 21st Century?

After the tours and Linotype demonstrations, exciting discussions arose among the visitors about printing technology and its historical developments. Many attendees were themselves active in the printing industry and looked back on the old machines with nostalgic feelings. However, there was also a sense of melancholy, as many had experienced the decline of the once-important Swiss printing industry firsthand. Some discussions also revolved around new technologies that could once again render existing machines and professions obsolete. The large number of visitors and lively discussions show that there is great interest in both old and new printing technologies, as well as a need for networking and exchange of experiences. The event contributed to these needs.

Finally, Enter Technikwelt, which sees itself as an interface between historical, current, and future technologies, presented the four volunteers of the Gutenberg Technikgruppe with a symbolic gift as a token of thanks: a 3D-printed "G" letter with engraved names—along with the half-serious question of whether the plastic filaments used for 3D printing might be the new lead of the 21st century?