Digital font maker, P22 type foundry announces "Stern", a new 16 point metal and digital type design by multi-faceted artist and craftsman Jim Rimmer. Stern was created at the Pie Tree Press & Type foundry in collaboration with P22 type foundry and marks the first time a font will be simultaneously released as both a digital font and hand-set metal type.

For nearly 60 years, Jim Rimmer, of New Westminster, British Columbia, has performed the duties of pressman, compositor, typesetter, designer, lithographer, illustrator, bookbinder and teacher, applying his skills to newspaper, advertising, design work and, not least of all, to his prolific one-man operation of Pie Tree Press & Type Foundry. The press publishes limited edition books that Rimmer designs all aspects of, but where Jim leaves his greatest and widest impression on the world of visual culture is through the type foundry. Jim has created many digital type designs, plus ten that have been cut by hand and cast in metal. It is fitting then, that his latest creation, a typeface named after the late printer and artist Chris Stern, will be a typographic first: a font simultaneously released both digitally and in metal.

The process Jim used to create Stern illustrates his remarkable approach to type design—using the same process for decades, all of his rough work is done by hand before being translated into digital forms using the program Ikarus. After the characters are designed in Ikarus using a plotting pen, they are output to a laser printer. Although there is nothing new about this part of the process, Jim's application takes it a step further by using it as the basis for his metal type design and casting. From this point, a paper master pattern, then a lead working pattern are created and scaled to a brass matrix (16 point, in the case of Stern). The matrix or mould casts one individual letter, one piece of type at a time. Noted typographer Frederic Goudy used a similar engraver to the same effect in creating typefaces for his own Village Type Foundery.

The digital Stern font is the same basic design as the metal version. Additional stylistic alternates & ligatures are offered in the "pro" version for a total of almost 1000 glyphs encompassing extended Latin languages to cover over 50 languages. Stylistic variations include several styles of settings including Mid Height caps, Small Aldine Style caps, Tall Height caps, Small Caps along with historical forms, superscript characters and alternate glyphs.

Working to metal is very different from working directly to digital. In doing so, Jim has managed to crossover a century of printing technology using digital as an intermediate step. Both the quantity and the quality of his work and his own exacting standards speak for themselves.

Stern Digital and Metal are available exclusively from P22 type foundry. In addition, the entire Rimmer type collection of over 200 digital fonts is also available from P22 type foundry.

The making of Stern at Rimmer's studio has been documented in HD video and a feature documentary detailing the creation of the Stern font is in the works. The entire process of making a metal font from drawings, to pantographic pattern making, to casting is being edited into an educational and entertaining look at this almost-lost art form. A release date is being slated for early 2009.

Rounding out the selection of Jim Rimmer's legacy is "Leaves from the Pie Tree" - a magnum opus autobiographical account of his life with type and the book arts along with "how-to" knowledge of the craft that a rare few possess. This handmade book was produced in a very small edition in 2006, but is being reprinted in an upcoming trade edition by Gaspereau Press of Nova Scotia.

The enclosed limited edition booklet features an actual piece of metal type from the first casing of Stern. Legendary Canadian printers Coach House Press printed the booklet using the duo-tone process with photos taken during the filming of the Rimmer documentary.

For more information and images of this milestone in typography, please visit: www.p22.com

• Stern Pro
• Metal Type & Specimen Booklet
• Stern Documentary Trailer
• Photos by Anna Prior
• Press Images