‘Type-o-file’ box of type specimens – Cooper & Beatty, Allan Fleming, 1957

In 1957, after 30 years of use, Cooper & Beatty finally replaced their original 1927 type specimen book with the innovative Type-o-file. Designed by Allan Fleming, Type-o-file was a flip-top cardboard box containing six easy to hold booklets. At a time when type books were often too heavy to even hold comfortably Type-o-file was small enough to fit on a desk without taking up any more space than a telephone. The Type-o-file soon became a favourite with all buyers of typesetting, who appreciated its convenience, practicality, and aesthetic appeal.

Other Toronto typesetters came out with their own variations of the Type-o-file. Mono Lino produced a wooden box that held eight three-ring vinyl binders and Howarth & Smith brought out the Graphic-Pak, a metal box containing individual specimens of all their typefaces, but both were larger, and much heavier, than the Type-o-file.