Para-Tone Inc. was a manufacturer of acetate products active since the 1910s. Based in Chicago in 1930 [ad] and 1958 [mention] and, later in 1958, in La Grange, Illinois [ad]. Various products including Zip-A-Tone, Blu-Zip, Copy-Zip. Their brand of transfer lettering was initially named Para-Tipe [1964 catalog] and later Zipatone. By 1974, the whole company was renamed Zipatone Inc., with headquarters in Hillside, Illinois, and offices around the world. A 1974 catalog lists 28 sans serif faces, 34 serif faces and 60 modern/display/decorative faces, only few of which were original designs. Introduced the “Designers Fonts” trademark in June 1979 [USPTO].
