Louis Moyroud
Encyclopedia
Louis Marius Moyroud was a French-born
American
inventor who co-developed the phototypesetting
process with Rene Alphonse Higonnet
, which allows text and images to be printed on paper using a photoengraving
process, a method that made the traditional publishing method of hot metal typesetting
obsolete.
Moyroud was born on in Moirans
, Isère
, France
. He attended engineering schools and received a government scholarship to study engineering at the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers
, graduating in 1936. He served in the French Army
as a second lieutenant starting in 1936, and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1939. He was hired in 1941 by LMT Laboratories, an ITT Corporation
subsidiary based in Lyon
.
In the early 1940s, he and Higonnet visited a printing plant where they saw the traditional printing process of hot metal typesetting, in which molten lead was cast to form lines of type to make the print for a newspaper or book, a method that dated back to the earliest days of printing and that had seen its last major advance in the late 1880s, when Ottmar Mergenthaler
invented the Linotype machine
. They thought that the process "was insane" and sought alternative methods that would make the process electronic. They developed a device they called "Lumitype", which used a typewriter-like input device to allow letters to be selected from a spinning disk using a strobe light and projected onto photographic paper which could then be photoengraved to make printing plate
s, which they first unveiled in France in September 1946.
They moved to the United States, where the Graphic Arts Research Foundation was created to foster further development of their photocomposing method, which was patented in the U.S. in 1957. While the process they developed had higher initial costs, Rini Paiva of the National Inventors Hall of Fame described how the photocomposing process "definitely revolutionized the printing industry", allowing books, magazines and newspapers to be printed more easily and at substantially lower cost.
The foundation had spent $1 million by 1949 to develop the process, which was available for use at a price of $400 per month. The first book printed by their device was The Wonderful World of Insects in 1953 as a demonstration for MIT Press
, which included 46 photographs on its 292 pages. Vannevar Bush
called the process "a milestone in the graphic arts"> In 1954, The Patriot Ledger
in Quincy, Massachusetts
became the first newspaper to adopt the method for all of their printing.
Higonnet and Moyroud were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
in 1985.
Moyroud died at age 96 on June 26, 2010, in his home in Delray Beach, Florida
. He was survived by three sons. His wife, Marie-Therese Meynet, had died in 2008.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
inventor who co-developed the phototypesetting
Phototypesetting
Phototypesetting was a method of setting type, rendered obsolete with the popularity of the personal computer and desktop publishing software, that uses a photographic process to generate columns of type on a scroll of photographic paper...
process with Rene Alphonse Higonnet
Rene Alphonse Higonnet
René Alphonse Higonnet was a French-born engineer and inventor who co-developed the phototypesetting process with Louis Moyroud, which allows text and images to be printed on paper using a photoengraving process, a method that made the traditional publishing method of hot metal typesetting...
, which allows text and images to be printed on paper using a photoengraving
Photoengraving
Photoengraving also known as photo-chemical milling is a process of engraving using photographic processing techniques. The full form of photoengraving is photo mechanical process in the graphic arts, used principally for reproducing illustrations. The subject is photographed, and the image is...
process, a method that made the traditional publishing method of hot metal typesetting
Hot metal typesetting
In printing and typography, hot metal typesetting refers to 19th-century technologies for typesetting text in letterpress printing. This method injects molten type metal into a mold that has the shape of one or more glyphs...
obsolete.
Moyroud was born on in Moirans
Moirans
Moirans is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Isère department...
, Isère
Isère
Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He attended engineering schools and received a government scholarship to study engineering at the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers
École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers
Arts et Métiers ParisTech is the French leading engineering school in the fields of mechanics and industrialization.The school trained 85,000 engineers since its foundation in 1780 by the Duke of La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt....
, graduating in 1936. He served in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
as a second lieutenant starting in 1936, and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1939. He was hired in 1941 by LMT Laboratories, an ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation
ITT Corporation is a global diversified manufacturing company based in the United States. ITT participates in global markets including water and fluids management, defense and security, and motion and flow control...
subsidiary based in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
.
In the early 1940s, he and Higonnet visited a printing plant where they saw the traditional printing process of hot metal typesetting, in which molten lead was cast to form lines of type to make the print for a newspaper or book, a method that dated back to the earliest days of printing and that had seen its last major advance in the late 1880s, when Ottmar Mergenthaler
Ottmar Mergenthaler
Ottmar Mergenthaler was an inventor who has been called a second Gutenberg because of his invention of the Linotype machine, the first device that could easily and quickly set complete lines of type for use in printing presses...
invented the Linotype machine
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
. They thought that the process "was insane" and sought alternative methods that would make the process electronic. They developed a device they called "Lumitype", which used a typewriter-like input device to allow letters to be selected from a spinning disk using a strobe light and projected onto photographic paper which could then be photoengraved to make printing plate
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
s, which they first unveiled in France in September 1946.
They moved to the United States, where the Graphic Arts Research Foundation was created to foster further development of their photocomposing method, which was patented in the U.S. in 1957. While the process they developed had higher initial costs, Rini Paiva of the National Inventors Hall of Fame described how the photocomposing process "definitely revolutionized the printing industry", allowing books, magazines and newspapers to be printed more easily and at substantially lower cost.
The foundation had spent $1 million by 1949 to develop the process, which was available for use at a price of $400 per month. The first book printed by their device was The Wonderful World of Insects in 1953 as a demonstration for MIT Press
MIT Press
The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
, which included 46 photographs on its 292 pages. Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush was an American engineer and science administrator known for his work on analog computing, his political role in the development of the atomic bomb as a primary organizer of the Manhattan Project, the founding of Raytheon, and the idea of the memex, an adjustable microfilm viewer...
called the process "a milestone in the graphic arts"> In 1954, The Patriot Ledger
The Patriot Ledger
The Patriot Ledger is a daily afternoon newspaper published in Quincy, Massachusetts and serving the South Shore. Its circulation is 55,000 on weekdays and 63,000 for its Weekend edition which is published on Saturday mornings....
in Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
became the first newspaper to adopt the method for all of their printing.
Higonnet and Moyroud were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging invention and creativity through the administration of its programs. The Hall of Fame honors the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human,...
in 1985.
Moyroud died at age 96 on June 26, 2010, in his home in Delray Beach, Florida
Delray Beach, Florida
Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 60,020. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S...
. He was survived by three sons. His wife, Marie-Therese Meynet, had died in 2008.