Matrix (printing)
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In hot metal typesetting, a matrix (often abbreviated to "mat") is a mould for casting the letters known as sorts used in letterpress printing.
In letterpress typography the matrix of one letter is inserted into the bottom of a hand mould, the mould is locked and molten type metal is poured into a straight-sided vertical cavity above the matrix. When the metal has cooled and solidified the mould is unlocked and a newly-cast metal sort is removed, ready for composition with other sorts.
In continuous casting and composition casting typography, the mats for a complete font are loaded into a matrix-case and inserted into a casting machine, which casts the required sorts for a page composition automatically.
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- Man, John The Gutenberg Revolution:The story of a genius that changed the world (c) 2002 Headline Book Publishing, a division of Hodder Headline, London. ISBN 0-7472-4504-5. A detailed examination of Gutenberg's life and invention interwoven with the underlying social and religious upheaval of Medieval Europe on the eve of the Renaissance.
