Has anyone tried this type storage?

If this works for you, great! I’m glad you found a solution you like. It is a very economical use of space, for sure.

For me this wouldn’t work because I wouldn’t be able to find anything. Since all cap cases have 7 compartments across, for each font in the case, I know without having to think about it, where each character is. I have many triple cap cases (and one quadruple cap case) for cap fonts. Sometimes I put two fonts together if they are considerably different in size so I can’t get them mixed up. For fonts with both caps and L.C., I use California job cases, but can still put two fonts in a case, like for instance one 12 pt font and one 24 pt font, as long as the fonts have a limited number of pieces. For larger type that I don’t use very much, I put it upright in galleys with enough reglet between the lines so I can easily pull out individual letters with my fingers.

I considered using molded fiber egg cartons because they have 2 X 6 compartments. If I put 3 1/2 cartons across to make 7 compartments across, it would make a “case” 7 compartments across and 6 compartments deep. (Actual cap cases almost always have 7 compartments across and 7 compartments deep). I haven’t used this egg carton idea though.

I would love to have a separate case, or a separate section of a cap case, for every font, but my inability to resist getting more new faces than I have space for, especially the ornate 19th century ones, has precluded that.

Here’s my take on dealing with small fonts:

http://briarpress.org/33568

For small type, I buy plastic storage containers (from Hobby Lobby, crafts section of Walmart, etc) that are already divided into relatively small compartments - cost a buck or two, stack easily, snap shut

Pugsley, Sir full marks for sourcing info and materials in that order.!!! . . As Geoffrey implies all good for aftermarket when a lot of type has been accumulated and probably with accumulated stock of full size cases!!
A target to aim at may be, (from the off) a system that may be added to, ad infinitum, as you progress??
As Geoffrey implies, (usually in a Bigger production House) stored on Galley,s interleaved/interspaced, at every line, or at least every consecutive letter of the alphabet for ease of access.. . 3 or 4 sheet card strips, to save furniture.!!
Again as Geoffrey implies removed/replaced with finger and thumb? Not all the Comps were too carefull (On Bonus) and frequently used tweezers and scratched the face(s) of the type, and then *passed the buck*???
Here in the U.K. Mid 50,s on, our Cornerstone, Graphic supplies and others supplied, for example, colour coded plastic compartments, that exactly, by the column, fitted across standard 7” Galley,s with a spring clip to retain the whole, full galley, of compartments,>>Colour code for Caps, Lowercase, Figures, Punctuation etc or different sizes, different Faces etc etc.
With the advent of 35 m/m colour transparancy Slide Boxes as complimentary,s the Smaller/Hobby printers soon upset the smaller Graphic suppliers by utilising same!!! . . Looks as though you may have cracked that one already, but in the absence of constant supply, here in the U.K Most general hardware stores, still supply, small colour coded plastic compartments for building into multi drawer racks, as/when!!!
One more little gimmick from way back, perfectly compatible, in Large Production house or Smaller Hobby Revivalist L/press Printer, (as you have observed) *several empty compartments* Usually cases are intended for 2 Alphabets, Caps/Lowercase, + punctuation, figures, ligatures/dipthongs, £ $ signs, asterisk, dagger double dagger, paragrph mark etc etc etc, But not always ALL cut/struck in all typefaces, hence gaps, usually after figures, 10 from 14,??? or between Caps X, Y, Z, …..U, J.
Plus it was/is quite normal to see, with plastic compartments in use, with limited capacity and too many characters, some compartments subdivided diagonally.”“”
To accomodate, for example, bare minimum, ligatures, dipthongs, £ $,s and even bare minimum X, Z, Q, &, ffi, ffl, fi, fl, ff, all in half compartments. Stood up rather than as normal, flat.?
By implication, devising a method that can be duplicated for the foreseeable future.
Hope this helps,. . Apologies if not.!!

OUCH!!!!!! The major obstacle that I see with the slide case storage scheme is that the type is at the bottom of a very deep and narrow space. I am ASSUMING that you will have to use a pair of tweezers or something like that to dig the type out of such a space. Steel tweezers vs. lead type = the type getting scratched just about every time. The other solutions offered at least have the characters able to be extracted with your fingers.

Just something to consider.

Rick

I was planning to either cut the coin holders to flush with the plastic tray, and/or use plastic tweezers to extract type.

I think the container you chose is not versatile enough to hold type, and the very narrow divisions will cause you a lot of trouble. I use clear acrylic containers that have a variety of divisions for many of the different projects on which I work. Here is a link to a store that specializes in them:

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/collections/hobby/partsBoxes?productI...

I also use some boxes that were designed for fishing flies for spacing material that fits outside of my usual storage:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34564322@N03/8252212924

I have found these solutions to work well, and to increase storage space in each container piece of cardboard, or plastic could be put diagonally in any necessary compartments.

Paul

StorageContainers.JPG