Welcome to the Type Consortium.
The aim of this site will be to gauge interest in, and pool resources to purchase letterpress type in quantity from the few traditional type foundries still in operation. The advantage will be two-fold: lower prices for purchasers, more work for the foundries.
Contrary to the opinion of some with vested interest in other technologies, it’s my belief that letterpress cannot be done without type, and specifically, “foundry typeâ€. Due to the hardness of the metal amalgam which makes up foundry type, there is the ability to cast designs otherwise unavailable in other systems such as Monotype, or the several line casting technologies. Fine serifs, italic kerns, light weights, and script designs can only be cast in hard foundry metal, and be expected to hold up to more than a single press run.
Type has always been a capital investment, and beyond that, type is captured energy in a world concerned with energy usage and efficiency. Laying good type in a case and treating it properly means that the cost of the materials, and the energy input to create it, is available to be used and reused again.