13 Facts About Monotype Imaging

Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc, founded as Lanston Monotype Machine Company in 1887 in Philadelphia by Tolbert Lanston, is an American company that specializes in digital typesetting and typeface design for use with consumer electronics devices.

Monotype Imaging was involved in the design and production of many typefaces in the 20th century.

Monotype Imaging developed many of the most widely used typeface designs, including Times New Roman, Gill Sans, Arial, Bembo and Albertus.

Monotype Imaging was of sufficient size to justify the construction of its own Salfords railway station.

Monotype Imaging machine worked by casting letters from "hot metal" as pieces of type.

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Monotype Imaging enjoyed, in Britain at least, something approaching a monopoly in book and better-quality magazine typesetting.

Monotype Imaging employed Frederic Goudy on several serif font projects which were well received at the time, and on staff type designer Sol Hess, who created the geometric sans-serif Twentieth Century as a competitor to the German Futura.

Monotype Imaging made the transition to cold type and began to market its own "Monophoto" phototypesetting systems, but these suffered from problems.

Monotype Imaging was eventually split into three divisions: Monotype International, which manufactured spinning mirror switched laser beam phototypesetters; Monotype Limited, which continued the hot metal machines; and Monotype Typography, which designed and sold typefaces.

Monotype Imaging has continued in business, for instance marketing typeface designs to third-party buyers, computing companies such as Microsoft and companies and organisations such as London Transport and the UK parliament requiring custom digital typefaces.

In late 2004, after six years under the Agfa Corporation, the Monotype Imaging assets were acquired by TA Associates, a private equity investment firm based in Boston.

Monotype Imaging was incorporated as Monotype Imaging, with a focus on the company's traditional core competencies of typography and professional printing.

Monotype Imaging was the first company to produce a digital version of the handwritten Persian script, Persian Nasta'liq.