Compugraphic

Compugraphic Corporation

Company type	Private
Industry	Typesetting systems, Phototypesetting machinery
Founded	1960 (1960) in Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
Founder	William Garth Jr.
Defunct	1988 (1988)
Fate	Acquired by Agfa-Gevaert in 1988; brand discontinued
Headquarters	Wilmington, Massachusetts , United States
Products	Typesetting systems, phototypesetting machinery, EditWriter, Modular Composition System (MCS), AdVantage
Parent	Agfa-Gevaert (from 1988)

Compugraphic Corporation Overview

Compugraphic Corporation, often abbreviated as cg, was an American manufacturer specializing in typesetting systems and phototypesetting machinery. Its headquarters remained close to its origin in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Distinct from the UK-based Compugraphics, the company was acquired by its European rival Agfa-Gevaert in 1981, with the Compugraphic brand being discontinued by 1988.

Together with industry leaders such as AM/Varityper and Mergenthaler, Compugraphic played a pivotal role in moving the printing industry away from traditional hot metal typesetting toward cold type technology. This innovation paralleled the emergence of web offset presses, which drastically reduced publishing expenses—especially labor costs—for newspapers and magazines. Numerous small and medium-sized newspapers integrated Compugraphic’s equipment in conjunction with presses like the Goss Community.

Compugraphic’s solutions significantly enhanced typesetting speed and lowered production costs, effectively displacing hot type methods until the advent of desktop publishing driven by Apple Macintosh and Windows PCs running software from firms such as Adobe Systems and Aldus Corporation.

Company Origins and Early Developments

Established in 1960 by William Garth Jr. in Brookline, Massachusetts, the company’s founding team included Ellis Hanson and David Lunquist, both formerly of Photon, Corp. Their inaugural product was the Directory Tape Processor (DTP), designed for telephone directory publishers.

In 1963, after moving operations to North Reading, Massachusetts, Compugraphic engaged Wang Laboratories to design the Linasec computer. This device generated justified punched tape to operate linotype machines that were still prevalent in hot metal typesetting at the time.

By the end of the 1960s, Compugraphic introduced photocomposition equipment such as models 7200 and 2900. These systems utilized computer-generated tapes to drive phototypesetters that exposed text onto Kodak Ektamatic paper for paste-up processes. Over time, the company incorporated advanced technologies including larger CRT displays, floppy disk data storage, and on-screen previews.

Product Innovations

The company's flagship EditWriter model could produce typefaces up to 8 inches wide in sizes ranging from 6 to 72 points. It employed fixed lenses mounted on an internal turret and saved data using 8-inch floppy disks.

Building on this success, Compugraphic launched the Modular Composition System (MCS), a modular hardware and software solution distributed on 5-inch floppy disks. MCS advanced to feature WYSIWYG display options such as PreView and PowerView, enabling users to visualize layouts prior to typesetting. This platform marked a transition from 8-bit processors to more powerful 16-bit Intel 8086 CPUs.

MCS was compatible with three output devices: the premium 8600 CRT typesetter equipped with an AMD bit-sliced digital font processor for rapid output utilizing encrypted digital fonts; the mid-tier 8400 CRT typesetter featuring a movable 5-inch CRT; and the entry-level 8200 model employing spinning-font and flash-tube technology reminiscent of earlier designs but constructed primarily with plastic components.

Additionally, Compugraphic provided CPM/86-compatible software for MCS hardware including applications like WordStar, CalcStar, and various accounting programs.

Advancements in Editing and Connectivity

In 1978, Compugraphic introduced AdVantage, a system that allowed operators to edit advertisement type for newspapers and magazines directly on-screen using an electronic pen. This innovation improved workflow efficiency while reducing costs.

Throughout the 1980s, Teletypesetting Co. developed an interface enabling Compugraphic phototypesetters to connect with personal computers such as the Macintosh platform.

In 1987, Thomas B. Hawkins of Compugraphic was granted a U.S. patent for Intellifont—a technology for hinted scaling of computer fonts.

Financials and Acquisition

For the quarter ending September 30, 1987, Compugraphic reported revenues nearing $92 million. The following year saw its acquisition by Agfa-Gevaert (then under Bayer). After Agfa’s public offering in 1999 separated it from Bayer ownership, many former Compugraphic assets were integrated into Agfa’s Offset Solutions division—continuing product lines in prepress technologies including computer-to-plate systems and film recorders that built upon Compugraphic’s foundational innovations.

Significantly, Hewlett-Packard incorporated Intellifont scaling into its PCL 5 printer control language beginning in 1990.