PURPOSE: To facilitate the operation of the composing machine and enable a composing process to be conducted at a high efficiency by a construction wherein a key plate, a shutter, a lens and a composing paper are located in that order on the laterally deeper side as viewd from the side of a light source.

CONSTITUTION: The light source 5 is placed below the height of the eyes of an operator, i.e., at about the breast level of the operator, and the key plate 1 is placed at such a position as to be looked down at by the operator. The shutter 2, the lens 3 and the paper are placed behind the key plate 1. The light source 5 placed behind the key plate 1 and below the shutter 2 sheds a beam of light onto the key plate 1 and projects a character onto a monitor plate 8, thereby enhancing the efficiency of picking. By illuminating the key plate 1 uniformly through a Fresnel lens 7, a plurality of characters can be projected clearly on the monitor plate 8.