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Sophie Wietlisbach (ed.)

Impact Type

Manufacturing Type for Typewriters in Switzerland, 1941–1997



English edition

Book design: Sophie Wietlisbach
224 pages, 162 images, 16 × 24 cm, softcover with flaps

Euro [D] 29.–, Euro [A] 29.90

Available
ISBN 978-3-03863-088-3

CHF   29.00


Book launch: February 19, 2025, as part of the symposium «Automatic Type 3» at the ANRT, Nancy (France)


• History and significance of the Swiss typewriter type manufacturers by Caractères SA, Setag, and Novatype

• A Swiss history of industry and typography – beautifully illustrated with numerous previously unpublished documents

• #5 of the Visual Archives series, in cooperation with ECAL

Three Swiss companies manufactured type for typewriters between the 1940s and 1990s: Caractères SA, Setag and Novatype. For over fifty years, they supplied leading office machine manufacturers in Europe and around the world, including Remington, IBM, Olivetti, Paillard-Hermes and Triumph-Adler.

These three companies, which held a major position on the world market, were instrumental in the creation, development and manufacture of type components and typefaces for typewriters, and indeed for impact printers in general. These visually distinctive typefaces occupy a significant place on today’s typographic landscape.

This volume, with its detailed portraits of Caractères SA,  Setag and Novatype, explores the history behind these typefaces and the historical context in which they were produced. It offers fascinating insights into the global impact type industry. When the three Swiss factories closed in the 1990s, most of their archives were destroyed. As a result, this research quickly turned into a very detailed investigation aiming to document this period of history by means of primary sources. This publication brings together the fruits of several years of research in numerous locations to reveal previously unpublished image material and cast a spotlight on a little-known chapter in industrial and typographic history, both locally and internationally.

With texts by
Sophie Wietlisbach, a preface by Roland Früh and a postface by Davide Fornari.

About the editor

Sophie Wietlisbach works as a independent graphic and type designer in Fribourg, focusing on editorial design, type design, and illustration. She graduated in Visual Communication from the Bern Academy of the Arts (HKB), followed by a master’s degree in Type Design from the ÉCAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne (HES-SO) in 2020. From 2020 to 2022, she worked as a teaching assistant for the master’s degree program Type Design at ECAL and is currently involved in several design research projects.

Sophie Wietlisbach est graphiste et dessinatrice de caractères indépendante à Fribourg. Son travail est axé sur le design éditorial, lla typographie et l’illustration. Elle a étudié la communication visuelle à la Haute école des arts de Berne (HKB) et a obtenu en 2020 un master en Type Design à l’ECAL/École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (HES-SO). De 2020 à 2022, elle a travaillé comme assistante d’enseignement pour le Master en Type Design à l’ECAL et participe actuellement à plusieurs projets de recherche en design.



DOWNLOAD Blurb Impact Type / Caractères EN ›
DOWNLOAD Waschzettel Impact Type / Caractères DE ›
DOWNLOAD Information de presse Caractères / Impact Type FR ›
DOWNLOAD Cover Impact Type ›
DOWNLOAD Cover Caractères ›
DOWNLOAD Angaben zur Produktsicherheit (GPSR) ›



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