I could swear I remember leafing thru Graphis and Modern Publicity back in the 70s and seeing full-page ads for a service that applied fancy lettering effects to typositor type: complex combinations of outlines, dropshadows, extrusions, hatching, even dimensional outlines à la the Rolling Stone logo. But when I go thru my old magazines and annuals, I can't find a trace. This was not PLINC, btw, and as I recall, the offering went well beyond their optical slanting and reproportioning.
False memory? Drug damage? Can anyone help?
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http://www.printmag.com/interviews/dan-x-solo-type-revivalist-dies/
Not sure they advertised in U&lc—or even that they were American—but, boy, those scans of old U&lcs are great. Thanks, Stephen!
I remember learning that the outline effects were achieved by sandwiching positive and negative transparencies and moving one of them in a circular fashion. The larger the movement, the thicker the outline. This explains why such outline effects always had rounded corners.
Many of the other effects, for things like shadows and bevels, were basically photomechanical versions of tricks we use in Photoshop to get similar results.
Dan Solo was truly a master of this craft, which was accomplished largely through creative lens work and copy board movement, but often completed with hand retouching. He published a small catalog of this work entitled "Solotype Special Effects." The work done by Dr. Böger (which later became Scangraphic, if I'm not mistaken) was relatively simple compared to much of the Solotype work.
George, Scott-Martin, Mark, thank you for your insights as well.