THIS INVENTION RELATES TO PHOTOCOMPOSING AND MORE PARTICULARLY TO A PHOTOTYPESETTING MACHINE WHICH ACCEPTS CODED INPUTS SIGNALS AND AUTOMATICALLY PHOTOGRAPHS TYPE IMAGES FROM A ROTATING MASTER FONT ONTO PHOTOGRTAPHIC MATERIAL IN THE DESIRED FORMAT SUCH AS THE JUSTIFIED LINES OF TYPE USED IN NEWSPAPER TEXT. THE CHARACTER ARE SPACED BY STEPPING A PROJECTION LENS AND THE STEPPING IN CONTROLLED BY MEANS OF CHANGE GEARS TO MATCH THE REQUIREMENTS OF A READILY CHANGEABLE MASTER FRONT STRIP. STROBE CONTROL OF THE MASTER FONT CHARACTERS MOVING IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO THE BASE LINE PROVIDES FOR ADJUSTABLE CHARACTER ALIGNMENT CONTROL.