Save the types!
Ever heard of types? They were lead blocks with letters carved backwards.
Why backwards?!
When pressed with ink on paper, they printed the right way. Called "movable type" because you could arrange and rearrange them into different words.
They printed thousands of posters, newspapers, flyers during the economic boom. Then digital printing arrived, and most were melted down.
These survived!
They're the lucky ones.
But how do we save them from being forgotten?
New life for old types
Salvage
Craftsmanship
Customization
che tipo! rescues original letterpress types from historic print shops. Each character carries its patina, marks, natural wear—not flaws, but history. History worth preserving.
Single letters become unique keychains. Others get glued together into words you can display or stamp with. Some get inked to print on paper, fabric, gifts.
Upcycling in action: scrap materials transformed into handcrafted objects.
Everything happens in Milan, at the che tipo! workshop. Even packaging is designed and assembled by hand, with obsessive attention to graphic detail.
No mass production. Each piece varies—different grain in the lead, different marks from time. Every box gets a hand-printed touch that hints at what's inside.
Because everything's handmade, everything can be customized.
Beyond what's in the shop, che tipo! will compose your word or phrase, drill your chosen letter or punctuation mark, hand-print whatever you want.
One-of-a-kind pieces. Made for you.
Limited by nature: when the type runs out, it's gone for good.
Full of character!
The typeface recovered for the first che tipo! collection is Linea Nera: a grotesque, the first synthesis between Helvetica and Univers by an Italian designer.
A clear, incisive, functional sans-serif, designed for high readability even in small sizes.
SPECIFICATIONS
Height: ~34.5 pt Didot = ~36 pt DTP
Weight: bold
Material: typographic alloy (lead, tin, antimony)
Distinguishing features: original, fascinating, full of character
TYPE ID
Surname and name: Linea Nera (or Linea Tonda Nera)
Date of birth: 1966-69
Place of birth: Milan, Fonderia Tipografica Cooperativa (FTC)
Dad: Umberto Fenocchio
DESIGNER
Umberto Fenocchio, designer and professor of typography and calligraphy. He designed the typefaces Grafico (1965), Linea (1966–1969), Calligrafia, Armonia and Brio.
After collaborating with Aldo Novarese and Pietro De Macchi at Nebiolo in Turin, he was artistic director of Fonderia Tipografica Cooperativa in Peschiera Borromeo (MI), where he designed the Linea typographic system (in variants Tonda, Nera, Nerissima, Corsiva, Stretta, and Profil) and th Sigla typeface, plus Arabic and Hebrew alphabets.
From 1974 to 1996 he taught typography and calligraphy at ISIA Urbino, then at Scuola Politecnica di Design (1969–1998) and NABA Milan from 1996.
