Hellbox
Bin for cast metal sorts after printing
A hellbox is a receptacle where cast metal sorts are thrown after printing. The job of sorting the type from the hellbox and putting it back into the job case was given to the apprentice, known as a printer's devil. Later, when continuous casting or hot metal typesetting machines such as the Linotype and Monotype became popular, the hellbox was used for storing discarded or broken types that were melted down and recast.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Hellbox”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Metal movable type.jpg by Willi Heidelbach, CC BY 2.5
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