The invention was patented by John Broadhouse of Middlesex, England on February 9, 1904 with patent number 751,607. The application for patent was filed on June 7, 1900.

A linotype is a printing bar that is as long or as wide as a page to be printed. The images to be printed are put together using dies. The dies are set up in a "puzzle" and locked together. The characters are properly spaced out and justified to form its printing edge.

Fig. 1 - representation of the first bar of the right-hand part of the organ or piano accompaniment to the chorus "Be not afraid", from Mendelsohn's "Elijah"

Fig. 2 - 9 - rear elevations of the eight composed lines of Mergenthaler linotype matrices

Fig. 10 - plan of the eight horizontal linotypes cast from the eight composed lines of matrices in Figs. 2 - 9

Fig. 11 - representation of one bar from one of Bach's variations

Fig. 12 - plan of the twenty vertical linotypes for printing the bar shown in Fig. 11