Rene Alphonse Higonnet
Encyclopedia
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
obsolete.
Higonnet was born in Valence, Drôme
in southeastern France
on April 5, 1902, and attended the Lycée de Tournon and the Electrical Engineering School of the University of Grenoble
. He was awarded a scholarship by the Institute of International Education
to attend Carleton College
in 1922 where he spent one year and then attended the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
. He developed a strong love for the United States while he was a student there, admiring the fact that it "had no national police force, no military draft, and hardly any income taxes" at the time, as his son would later recall.
From 1924 to 1948, he was employed by Le Matériel Téléphonique, a French subsidiary of ITT Corporation
. In the early 1940s, Moyroud 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, which was then photographed to produce a negative necessary for offset printing. The two thought that the process of printing one copy from lead type and then photographing it "insane" and sought alternative methods that would make a negative directly. They developed a device they called Lumitype (called "Photon" in the US) that 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 Photon machine they created could generate type four times faster than a Linotype machine and could be operated by anyone who could type, without the assistance of specialized workers.
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 returned to Europe in 1968 and lived in Switzerland
until his death on October 13, 1983.
Higonnet and Moyroud were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
in 1985.
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...
engineer and 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 Louis Moyroud
Louis Moyroud
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...
, 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
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.
Higonnet was born in Valence, Drôme
Valence, Drôme
Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
in southeastern 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...
on April 5, 1902, and attended the Lycée de Tournon and the Electrical Engineering School of the University of Grenoble
University of Grenoble
University of Grenoble or Grenoble University was a university in Grenoble, France until 1970, when it was split into several different institutions:...
. He was awarded a scholarship by the Institute of International Education
Institute of International Education
Institute of International Education - is a non-profit organization promoting international exchange of education and training. It was established in 1919 and is based in the USA....
to attend Carleton College
Carleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
in 1922 where he spent one year and then attended the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
The Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science , a school within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences , serves as the connector and integrator of Harvard's teaching and research efforts in engineering, applied sciences, and technology.Engineering and applied sciences at Harvard...
. He developed a strong love for the United States while he was a student there, admiring the fact that it "had no national police force, no military draft, and hardly any income taxes" at the time, as his son would later recall.
From 1924 to 1948, he was employed by Le Matériel Téléphonique, a French subsidiary of 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...
. In the early 1940s, Moyroud 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, which was then photographed to produce a negative necessary for offset printing. The two thought that the process of printing one copy from lead type and then photographing it "insane" and sought alternative methods that would make a negative directly. They developed a device they called Lumitype (called "Photon" in the US) that 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 Photon machine they created could generate type four times faster than a Linotype machine and could be operated by anyone who could type, without the assistance of specialized workers.
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 returned to Europe in 1968 and lived in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
until his death on October 13, 1983.
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.