With a newly-acquired C4 Intertype, equipped with a TTS reader, Sydney’s Penrith Museum of Printing is looking for perforated tape to run on it.

And/or a perforator to produce it, perhaps.

Six-level tape produced by a manual or early computer (think CG Justape or Digital PDP8) was once the ‘latest tech’ for newspapers wishing to speed hot-metal typesetting; later it was to progress to phototypesetting – sometimes with screen-based editing – as a precursor to magnetic media. It could also be used to set wire-service reports.

And of course, played a critical role in the 2000 US presidential election with Florida’s ‘hanging chads’ (and some pregnant ones).

The C4 Intertype came from the (Albury-Wodonga) Border Mail, and had spent the last 30 years in the Canberra garage of John and Joy Tonkin.

The Penrith team has already checked out TTS teletypesetter operating unit (reader), reporting that it ran perfectly and “as quietly as a mouse”.

The linecaster has now joined the museum’s existing C4 model and neighbouring Model 5, 8 and 78 Linotypes.

“Once we complete a thorough cleaning and lubrication, we look forward to running the C4 Intertype for our visitors, offering a glimpse into the golden era of typesetting and printing,” said a committee member.

The search for teletypesetter tape continues. If you have spare tape or know of a source, please call or email the museum.

• Another recent donation to the museum is of a Zoll defibrillator, the gift of local newspaper-focussed group Pressgang.

• In association with the Australian Library & Information Society, the museum is also hosting a day of exhibiting rare books, engravings, letterpress typesetting and machinery on October 20 (Sunday) from 11am-1pm.

Peter Coleman

Pictured: The Penrith museum’s latest acquisition (top) with its operating unit bottom right, and (below) an early TTS perforator. The mechanical unit had a ‘qwerty’ keyboard and could be used by a trained typist; the semicircular display showed the length of the set line as well as spacing information