Less expensive photosetting equipment was signposted by the Photon 713-5 machine and by a couple of PhotoText Setters from Fairchild.

More significantly, Purdy and McIntosh exhibited the PM Filmsetter, which was subsequently, and quickly taken over by Linotype to become the oft-celebrated Linotron 505.

At Drupa 1972, the upsurge of phototypesetting was to be broadly observed in several developments, instanced by the Photon Pacesetter Mark 2 and the Berthold Diatronic. Kodak also enhanced phototypeset output with a resin-coated sensitive paper providing a superior alternative to stabilisation materials.

At Drupa 1977, the electronic mechanical direct-entry phototypesetter for “everyman” reached its zenith in the Computergraphic EditWriter 7500, a hugely successful device. Also at this Drupa, Electronic printing established a presence in the form of the Xerox 9700 running at 120ppm.

Digital phototypesetting had become the vogue by Drupa 1982 and a new Comp/Edit 6400 phototypesetter from AM simply confirmed the trend.

Another important happening was the integration of personal computers into pre-press equipment, as exemplified by the APL-100 keyboard from Linotype. Office and industrial technologies seemed to be merging in readiness for desktop publishing.

Lawrence Wallis held international pre-press marketing positions and was a respected author and print historian.