Gravure de poinçons
In printing, the cutting of punches was the basis of, and the point of departure for, all the developments which have made possible the creation of letters and texts, first of all on paper, and then in all other media, material and immaterial, that we know today. The punchcutter, like Gutenberg, possess the creative skill that I shall now try to describe.
Christian Paput cutting a capital O.
“When we design new punches of for a new typeface, the cutting doesn’t represent all the work. It’s just the last part of a lengthy exercise, just as no one letter can be designed alone: all form a complete set. Each letter needs to be designed to function with the others, to work harmoniously with any of the others, before or after it; adhering also to the mechanisms of the foundries and to the kinds of type settings. The spacing problems force us to study the different letter combinations, especially those in need of corrections, which influence the rest of the alphabet, without sacrificing the design quality of the punch you cut.”
Louis Gauthier (1916-1993) punchcutter at Deberny et Peignot foundry from 1929 to 1948, then at The Imprimerie Nationale until 1979.
Some of his tools.
“The hand, directly linked with the brain, found its power, when it was reinforced by adapted tools.”
The punch is an elongated block of steel, of which one end is engraved in relief and in reverse. Being a unique object, it is stored with great care. It is used, without suffering wear, to make an impression, cold, in another piece of metal: the matrix. Each matrix is made one at a time. It is used, until it wears out, to cast thousands of types, relief castings in reverse, which are inked and pressed against paper to make a printed page.
Process from punchcutting to type (from British Library exhibition)
The materials have not changed fundamentally: we still find the steel punch, the copper matrix and the leaden type (in fact an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony). The proportions for hand-cast type are the following: 70 per cent lead, 5 per cent tin, 25 per cent antimony.
Christian Paput show a punch of E capital with its space to include the accent, as showed on the top right of the same image.
An open box of punches found during the visit in 2002 on the floor who is in fact the punches basis of Ambroise family!
“It is recommended to the pupils to be under the direction of a master, and not to quit except in case of major problems. The same pupils shall restrain themselves from an excessive life, such as food and drink, and keep their hands in good condition. Avoid also any use of the hands for hard work such as to move big stones, and finally avoid liaisons with women.” From Journal des Savants, 18th century.
