Lmst
Login

#Compugraphic

Pierre Huyghebaertcrickxson@post.lurk.org
2025-02-11

Partly because of our #MetaPost workshop of next week at #AutomaticType #anrt @ANRT automatic-type-design.anrt-nan with @Ludi @eugbidaut @AntoineGelgon I'm reading an old brochure on (the always incredibly rich) archive.org about the "#Compugraphic Modular Composition System"
ia801000.us.archive.org/29/ite
#photocomposition #typography
(lot of text in the alt of pictures)
According to the Compugraphic page on wikipedia "Following the success of the EditWriter, Compugraphic introduced [somewhere in the 70's] the Modular Composition System, known as the "MCS". The entire system was modular, including the software, which was delivered on 5" floppy disks. As the product matured, a "#WYSIWYG" (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) display was added (the PreView) so that a user could see a "soft" view of a job before it was typeset. This was followed up by the PowerView whereby the user worked directly on a "WYSIWYG" display. The MCS was a huge success, and also marked a change in technology from 8bit to 16bit (Intel 8086) cpu hardware."

Part of the document showing a slab serif "a" in a font editor (probably Ikarus) on a CRT screen, on a yellow column, the subtitle "Typographic Development" in dark red Frutiger Italic (probably) and the text in Garamond Condensed "Compugraphic sets the world standard in the design and development of typefaces. The Compugraphic library of more than 1,500 typefaces is the industry's largest and most comprehensive. The company's highly skilled design staff adds more typefaces every year, enabling its customers to take full advantage of today's sophisticated typographic developments. Contact your Compugraphic sales representative today for more information about the Modular Composition Systems and the company customer support that has made these typesetting systems the most popular in the world."Upper part of the cover with on a black background vertical blue lines finishing red on the right side, and between each line in green small caps in Frutiger Italic reading "Modular Composition System"Spread with a photograph of the studio reconstitution of the corner of an office with the photocomposer n the middle, and two women workers with hair in pure eighties fashion, one reading proofs and another on a screen. The text is untitled "The Start-Up Systems" and says "Among the thousands of MCS users worldwide are those whose typesetting operations are in the start-up phase. These Compugraphic customers fre-# 21/1 quently have one or two operators and hence require an MCS 5 or MCS 10 441. input system driving an MCS 8200 or MCS 8400 typesetter. The interactive PowerView system is also ideal for this environment. Users who anticipate substantial growth may select an MCS 10 system, linked to an MCS 8400 digital typesetter. The MCS 10 gives them the option of an additional workstation and the flexibility to add more workstations and options. The MCS 8400 gives the user all the benefits of digital type technology—special typographic effects and extensive online font storage capability—at very low cost. If your business requires a low-priced, entry level system with the capacity to grow and accommodate sophisticated Compugraphic options, ask your Compugraphic representative to outline an MCS for your applications."Part of a page with photo of a computer system and on the vertical screen a zoom on a promotional media with blocks of ads with various sizes of text reading "* \ \biers= SCBAALL ADD IT 2 .407 n-.....-ALL UP. gigues C-7.: vc)Rt VALUES • MORE SAVINGS • • • :47:7.74Z.S."14 • 7 NM PACK WHOLE Q! CHICKENSCOCSIRLI • ua.STE/ t FAN %HORS SHANK FRESH Fi s_s_rALI._.t " and the cropped brochure text says "The MCS 5 Input System - The MCS 5 is a desktop, state-of-the-art input system that can be used either as an online workstation to power an MCS typesetter or as a remote ter-minal for an MCS 10, MCS 100, or PowerView. The MCS 10 Input System - The MCS 10 input system is the ideal choice for those who antici-pate significant expansion into the broad range of MCS options. By increasing the memory of this input system you can expand your capacity to two workstations sharing the same database. The MCS 100 Input System - This input system is the most powerful in the MCS family. Expanding the basic capabilities [...] system from any workstation, and the MCS 100 can perform most functions faster than any other input system in the MCS product line. This system's 100-foot cables allow you to position [...] The MCS PowerView 10 Terminal - With its interactive, what-you-see-is-what-you-get screen, this latest addition to the MCS line of input systems lets you see coded text"
WoodchazWoodchaz@vivaldi.net
2023-11-08

lateboomersden.blog/2023/11/08
Change is fast and slow at the same time. It's crazy to me when I remember how much technology changed in the newsroom before I finally tapped out. And how few people it took to run a newspaper by the end.
#Compugraphic, #Journalism, #Newspapers, #Obsolescence, #Obsolete, #Pagemaker, #QuarkXpress, #Technology

Client Info

Server: https://mastodon.social
Version: 2025.04
Repository: https://github.com/cyevgeniy/lmst