Monotype Diecase/Keybar Layouts

The layouts listed below represent a very small selection of the many thousand layouts produced by The Monotype Corporation. They are some of the collection held by the Alembic Press, and represent lays for 15x15, 15x17 and 16x17 matrix cases and associated keybars for certain typefaces. There are many other layouts for these faces, and for other faces, which, until 2023, could be obtained from Monotype Hot Metal at the Type Archive in London. Some layouts listed below have no Layout Number, as they are layouts for a specific customer, so no printed copy was issued. Note that these are all U.K. Monotype layouts. Some U.S. layouts are listed separately.

You can use these layouts to see the layout of matrices in the matrix case, and the unit values of each row in the case (and thus the unit values of the stopbar and wedge). The stopbar number, the wedge number, and the keybar arrangement are also nearly always shown. Detail is sometimes shown for the outside characters (sorts) that can be substituted in the matrix layout. The set widths of the typefaces involved are also (sometimes) shown, although where several different typefaces share the same layout, the faces and sets are usually given on the other side of the layout sheet, and some of these are shown at the bottom of the list below, as Layout 1, 2, 682, 1010, 1012, 1201, 1202. Also, for some faces, two or more layouts for 15x17 have been shown, one often being the Standard Book with Jobbing and another the Standard Book with Extended Jobbing, which includes fractions, at the expense of some ligatures and bold and italic characters. In some cases, although the MCA is the same, there are two or more layouts, i.e. for 13/11, 14/11 and 14/12 keybanks (buttons).

Note that the matrix case arrangements shown are not exclusive, as any given typeface may have several different MCA, depending upon the requirements of the customer. Similarly, there may be many different keybar arrangements for the same face. Also, whilst the Unit Arrangement may be fixed for a specific face and size, the Matrix Arrangement may sometimes assign a different unit value to a particular matrix, in order to fit the matrix into the case using the given wedge. Such changes are usually shown at the bottom of the layout sheet.

This list is not yet finished, and more layouts are being added as time permits. Also, most of the layouts have been copied from working sheets or photocopies and although a little cleaning has been done in many instances, the quality of some is not ideal (yet).

This page was written by David Bolton in 2013 and last updated 31 October 2023.