temporary exhibition

Before the use of digital fonts like the ones we see today, movable type or phototypesetting were commonly used for printing. Phototypesetting used photographic engineering principles to print, and it replace moveable type printing—which used a large amount of metal to create the many characters required to print Japanese. Its advent was an epoch-making event that eliminated the complications of moveable type printing. The convenience of phototypesetting brought about an improvement in the work environment. In addition, the technology made it possible to easily develop many beautiful typefaces, bringing a wide variety of typefaces to the printed page.
This exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the invention of phototypesetting by introducing the history, role, mechanisms, and even typeface design of this technical and expressive bridge from moveable type to digital fonts.