Friday 3 August 2012

Comic Avec

I used to love playing with fonts when I was younger, but as the Internet was waiting to be invented and Steve Jobs hadn't got his act together I used to be a regular customer at the local stationery shop where they sold a thing called Letraset.

For anyone under 40, these were sets of black letters on dry transfer sheets that you had to position on the paper then rub the back of the transfer sheet with a pencil. For those under 30, pencils were wooden writing things which you had to sharpen with a knife. For those under .... oh, maybe not. Sheets of Letraset were quite expensive and once you had made a few words you would find all the "e"'s missing but the satisfaction of seeing one's own words in a different typeface is difficult to imagine today.

Here's more typesetting news:


13 comments:

Rosie said...

Hey Letraset! Remember the smell of it? The thrill of seeing those crisp squint words...

Z said...

My father, never one to do things by halves, had a printing press.

Liz said...

I remember those transfer sheets; they used to sell them in the village post-office.

Did Holly find her own way into that font or was there human intervention?

Rog said...

Rosie: I think there was a Letraset Wingdings equivalent which was really far too much excitement in those days.

Z: Now for some reason that doesn't come as much of a surprise! We've sold Adana presses, they still hold their value.

Liz: I've now started remembering soak on transfers as well. The font was entirely Lily's idea....

Macy said...

Font memories indeed..Thanks for sharing Rog

Unknown said...

Yes, but I bet Holly was thinking:- "I font to be alone."

Anonymous said...

Gigglesnort! You are the font of all wisdom and funny photos :)

dinahmow said...

And here's me, thinking it was a typo, having one too many "ls"

broken biro said...

I knew you were the font of all knowledge... now it turns out have a knowledge of all fonts!... which you're clearly had since new Roman times!

mig bardsley said...

Only the other day I found a sheet with all the 'e's missing when I was clearing out. I suppose now there are collectors willing to pay for sheets with 'e's intact.

Pat said...

What's Holly doing in my fountain?

Rog said...

Macy: I know your type!

Mike: It was a baptism of fur!

Gab: Thankyou! I like to make a good impression.

Di: You could always type "o" instead

Biro: And don't forget Wingdings!

Mig: 'E's are Good, as those great artistes E17 once intoned...

Pat: Spouting probably :-(

Anonymous said...

If it hadn't been for Letraset I would have failed college....! At least I think I passed college...?