Gazette - Fonts Typefaces - Typofonderie

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A couple of months ago,

during a visit here by
Paul Shaw, an American
calligrapher, we decided to visit
my friends Christian Paput, the
noted punchcutter, and Paul Marie
Grinevald, the bookkeeper, at the
Cabinet des Poinons, at The
Imprimerie Nationale in Paris. I felt
that it was a good idea to show
some of the pictures we took
during our visit, particularly in a
context where the future of the
Cabinet des Poinons is not clear.
Let me explain a little bit. In the
middle of the 1990s, The

TOP 5 april

Imprimerie Nationale ceased to be

1. Allumi PTF

a public company. Because of

2. Le Monde Sans PTF

market competition in the printing

3. Ambroise

industry, the new directors havent

4. Ardoise PTF

been able to both manage and

5. Le Monde Courrier

preserve all of the historical

PTF

collection and keep the craft of

Christian Paput alive as well as the

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Anisette in use

government could do. But the

government seemed to have lost
its focus on the preservation of
the Cabinet and the connected
library, without really noticing the
consequence of it. For a couple of
months, a collective worked hard
to bring back all of this, to restore
a better environment, in the hope
of creating a museumor better,

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.

a place were the craft can continue

to be transmitted to future
generations. The situation seems
little better now, as the Ministre
Fonts in use

de la Culture has begun to

understand the value of this craft

1997-2011 v1.1.7

and search for solutions, but

Porchez Typofonderie

nothing is yet confirmed. At the

same time, the bookkeeper Paul
Marie Grinevald officially quit his
job before the end of October
2002. jfp.
The Imprimerie Nationale, rue de
la Convention, Paris is now closed.

Credits
With texts extracted from
Christian Paput publication on
punchcutting. And comments of
the today situation by Jean
Franois Porchez. Copyright 19982002 Christian Paput for texts and
Jean Franois Porchez for the
images. Thanks to John Downer.
Typeface used on title: Sabon Next

More
La lettre, la gravure du Poinon
typographique. The punchcutting

http://www.typofonderie.com/gazette/articles/paput/

21/05/2011

Gazette - Fonts Typefaces - Typofonderie

by Christian Paput (Franais-

Page 2 of 3

Christian Paput cutting a capital O.

English). TVSO Editions, 1998.

ISBN 2-9505015-4-0. 18. Contact
us for more information on the
author and publisher.
More on punchcutting (in french.)
The materials of typefounding, by
James Mosley

Gazette
mar 28 2011
Le jour o jai dcid de ne plus
utiliser le Din
mar 10 2011
On type classifications

When we design new punches of for a new typeface, the

cutting doesnt represent all the work. Its 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.

aug 02 2010
Aprs le dcs de Peter Keller
par Rudi Meyer
feb 04 2010
Lettering: Canadian Business
oct 09 2008
Type history (2)
apr 09 2008
Type history
nov 04 2006
Ladislas Mandel
jun 02 2006
Ambroise in details
jul 24 2004
ATypI survey 2004
mar 08 2004
Un homme de caractre(s)
feb 09 2004

Some of his tools.

Relaunch
jan 15 2004
ATypI report 2003 for France
may 10 2003

The hand, directly linked with the brain, found its power,
when it was reinforced by adapted tools.

PTF Expo 2003: Jean Franois

Porchez
may 10 2003
PTF Expo 2003
may 05 2003
The latin alphabet in latin hands
2
may 05 2003
Parisian type underground
jan 27 2003
The latin alphabet in latin hands

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.

oct 22 2002
Punchcutting
oct 22 2002
Parisine, a Parisian type
oct 01 2002
Un logotype Autrement
oct 30 2001
ATypI report 2001 for France
jun 05 2001
Le Scriptorium de Toulouse
jan 11 2001
Where are the typonews
websites?
dec 24 2000
A Christmas story
nov 12 2000
Raymond Gid, affichiste et

Process from punchcutting to type (from British Library exhibition)

typographe

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.

http://www.typofonderie.com/gazette/articles/paput/

21/05/2011

Gazette - Fonts Typefaces - Typofonderie

Page 3 of 3

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.

Example of a beautiful type composition with curves dating back

International Fair, early 20th century.

http://www.typofonderie.com/gazette/articles/paput/

21/05/2011