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Monotype history
Monotype company history timeline
The Lanston Monotype Machine Company was founded by Tolbert Lanston in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1887.
In 1896 Lanston patented the first hot metal typesetting machine and Monotype issued Modern Condensed, its first typeface.
The company's first face, issued in 1896 was a rather generic design, now named Modern, influenced by Bodoni and Scotch Roman designs.
In a search for funding, the company set up a branch in London around 1897 under the name Lanston Monotype Corporation Ltd, generally known as the Monotype Corporation.
1899 Construction begins on factory at Salfords.
In 1899 a new factory was built in Salfords near Redhill in Surrey where it has been located for over a century.
1900 The first typeface issued by the Lanston Monotype Corporation Ltd as Modern (Series 1) based on a design by the Miller & Richard type foundry.
1902 First issue of the Monotype Recorder.
The typesetting machines were continually improved in the early years of the 20th century, with a typewriter style keyboard for entering the type being introduced in 1906.
1907 First Cyrillic font, Cushing (Series 46).
1912 Imprint (Series 101), for The Imprint.
1927 Beatrice Warde appointed editor of the Monotype Recorder.
1931 Name of the Lanston Monotype Corporation Ltd in Britain changed to the Monotype Corporation Ltd.
Mackey’s 1936 History of the Linotype Company
In 1936, the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange and became the Monotype Corporation Ltd.
1941 Monotype offices in London at 43 Fetter Lane destroyed by enemy bombing on 10 May.
1943 Monotype Technical Bulletin first issued.
1944 Research begins on project that eventually produces the Monophoto Filmsetter.
1955 Monophoto Filmsetter actively promoted in marketplace for first time.
About the AuthorFrank Romano, Professor Emeritus at RIT, began his career at the Mergenthaler Linotype Company in 1959.
1968 Barbou – final hot metal typeface.
Since its founding in 1969, the Cary Graphic Arts Collection at Rochester Institute of Technology has grown from the personal library of its namesake Melbert B. Cary Jr., to one of the nation’s premier libraries on graphic communication history.
1973 Monotype Corporation is acquired by the Grendon Trust; then taken over by CST Investments Ltd.
1976 Monotype Lasercomp, the first commercially successful digital laser imagesetter.
1980 Nimrod (series 814) by Robin Nicholas.
A year later it continued its expansion by acquiring iconic New York company Hoefler & Co. created by Jonathan Hoefler in 1989.
1990 Entire Monotype Classic Font Library issued in PostScript Type 1 format on a CD-ROM (with the Adobe Type Library).
In 1992 The Monotype Corporation Ltd. appointed Administrative Receivers on 5 March and four days later Monotype Typography Ltd. was established.
1996 Monotype begins licensing fonts through its website monotype.com.
1997 Agfa acquires Monotype.
In 1999, Agfa-Compugraphic acquired the company, which was renamed Agfa Monotype.
2000 Agfa Monotype acquires International Typeface Corporation (ITC).
In 2003, the company launched Fontwise, the first software to audit desktops for licensed and unlicensed (not necessarily illegal) fonts.
In 2004, P22 type foundry bought the "Lanston Type Co." from Gerald Giampa.
In late 2004, after six years under the Agfa Corporation, the Monotype assets were acquired by TA Associates, a private equity investment firm based in Boston.
On 18 September 2006, the company acquired China Type Design Limited, a typeface design and production company based in Hong Kong.
2007 Monotype Imaging begins trading on 25 July as ‘TYPE’ on the Nasdaq Global Market Exchange.
On 11 December 2009, the company acquired Planetweb, a developer specialized in applications and development tools for embedded devices.
On 8 December 2010, the company acquired Ascender Corporation, a provider of fonts and font technologies used in computers, mobile devices, consumer electronics and software products.
In March 2012, the company acquired Bitstream Inc., a digital font retailer.
On 15 July 2014, the company acquired FontShop, the last large independent digital font retailer.
The history of the English brand can be found in: Judy Slinn, Sebastian Carter, Richard Southall: The History of the Monotype Corporation, Vanbrugh Press & Printing historical Society, Woodstock, London, 2014, ISBN 978-0993051005
On May 18, 2020, Monotype made another major expansion by purchasing URW Type Foundry from Global Graphics plc.
TYPE DESIGN INFORMATION PAGE last updated on Fri May 21 20:39:06 EDT 2021
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Monotype competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sequent Inc. | 1995 | $2.6M | 50 | - |
| Hyperion Materials & Technologies | 2018 | $60.0M | 1,600 | 25 |
| Infinium | 2004 | $190,000 | 50 | 28 |
| The Planet Group | - | $2.1M | 50 | 59 |
| Internetwork Engineering | 1996 | $116.0M | 1 | - |
| Ascent Group | 2001 | $1.4M | 50 | 21 |
| Lightspeed | 1996 | $110.0M | 650 | 62 |
| Performance Development Group | 2002 | $10.8M | 5 | 6 |
| Rimkus Consulting Group | 1983 | $128.1M | 200 | 150 |
| Healthcare Technologies Inc | - | $500,000 | 50 | - |
Monotype history FAQs
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Monotype may also be known as or be related to Monotype, Monotype Imaging, Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc, Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc., Monotype Imaging Inc and Monotype Imaging Inc.