techniques was used by the punk movement because of its ease of manipulation, its low price and the quality of the rendered layout. Letraset's ease of use and widespread availability aligned with the do it yourself value of this movement by allowing punks to create designs independent from printers and publishers. Product In common usage, the name Letraset originally referred to sheets of transfer lettering which were originally manufactured as a wet process in 1959, with each character selected and cut from a sheet, placed face-down on a small silk screen frame and wetted with a paint brush to soften and release the gum arabic adhesive which held it. The frame was then turned over and the letter located over the artwork, and the character pressed into contact with the page, with the mounting base slid away as with model aircraft transfers. Later, in 1961, the process was simplified, and a dry transferable lettering system was developed. The range of available typefaces expanded, incorporating both classic and contemporary type designs of the period. Letraset sheets were used extensively by professional and amateur graphic designers, architects and artists in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. As a result of its relative affordability, and because of its ease of use, it also came to be used by printers, design studios and advertising agencies. In the late 1980s Letraset started to be replaced by desktop publishing. Today Letraset sheets are traded on eBay and elsewhere, and sometimes used so that a designer can avoid a digital look. The name is also often used to refer generically to sheets of dry transfer lettering of any brand. This technique was very widespread for lettering and other elements before the advent of the phototypesetting and laser computer techniques of word processing and desktop publishing. Currently, Letraset's line of print patterns and textures are more commonly used than its lettering. Lorem ipsum Lorem ipsum filler text has been featured on Letraset advertisements for decades. There are some indications its use predates Letraset, but nothing concrete has surfaced prior to Letraset's popularizing it. See also Dry transfer Screentone References External links Letraset Official website, archived version from 2001 ColorStudio wins MacUser Editor's Choice award 1990 Ashford, Kent Cold type foundries Commercial type foundries Companies based in Kent