typesetter
Americannoun
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a person who sets type; compositor
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a typesetting machine
Etymology
Origin of typesetter
Explanation
A typesetter is a person who arranges type for printing. There are also digital typesetters for laying out the type on computer screens. Today most typesetting is done by computers, which are skilled at arranging characters on a screen so they're easy to read. So the job of typesetter is a bit of an old-fashioned one, although there are still physical printing presses that require their skill. Letterpress cards, books, and art, which have a raised type that you can feel with your fingertips, are produced by a typesetter who arranges moveable type in the press, inks it, and prints on paper.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So the Zimbabwean author found her own editor, typesetter and artist, and in 2012 published 500 copies herself.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Despite not using an alias and having prior convictions, Alcala was hired by The Times as a typesetter in September 1977.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2024
As soon as the text is available, publishers send it to their typesetter.
From New York Times ● Dec. 23, 2022
His father was a typesetter, and his mother did bookkeeping for an advertising agency.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 2, 2022
Charlotte Woodward, a nineteen-year-old farmer’s daughter, wanted to work as a typesetter in a print shop.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.