What Is a Point Size?
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What is a point size? “Point size” refers to the size (in points) of a font or other small items on a printed page. Originally, the printer’s point, from the days of metal typesetting and letterpress printing described the height of the metal body on which the typeface’s characters were cast. This metal body allows for space to include the ascenders and descenders. In digital type, the body of the letter is now within an imaginary design space but it is still used as the basis from which the type is scaled. Currently we use a unit of measurement called the PostScript point which is defined as 72 points to the inch, ie: 12 points to the pica. (What is a Pica ??? see the next slide) Space for the descenders What is a pica? In 1785 François-Ambrose Didot refined the typographic measures system created by Pierre Simon Fournier le Jeune. He replaced the traditional measures of cicéro, Petit-Roman, and Gros-Text with the twelve-point pica system. French Pica American Pica Adobe PostScript Pica 4.512mm 4.2175mm 4.233mm Despite the above petty bickering Adobe PostScript has promoted their pica unit of measure as the standard in contemporary printing for home computers and desktop publishing (Adobe InDesign, etc). p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6 p7 p8 p9 p10 p11 1P 1 pica* *Enlarged to show shape and texture. www.schaedlerprecision.com Greatest Rulers Ever. Schaedler Precision Rules When your measurements must be absolutely 100% accurate USE YOUR SCHAEDLER RULER. Why? They’re accurate: Calibrated from Grand Master standards, they have an accuracy tolerance of better than .00024” or 1/4,000ths of an inch! They are durable: made from strong, tear-free, translucent, flexible film these rulers withstand expansion and contraction due to temperature and humidity changes. They have superior legibility: The translucent, but not transparent, film base permits the reading of fine graduations over dark or black originals. Whether read against a computer display screen, around dimensional objects, or on warped or flat surfaces, increment marks are always crisp, legible and glare-free They are the industry standard: With virtually no advertising or promotional effort word of the accuracy of these rulers spread quickly. Schaedler Precision Rules became the industry standard for measurement with art directors, designers, calligraphers, printers, and meticulous craftsmen everywhere. What is leading? Leading* is the distance between the baselines of successive lines of type. This term originates from hand type-setting when strips of lead were placed between lines of type within the frame or forme. Examples Bad, too tight. Good. Easy to read. *Now that you understand a bit about typography, you should always use the term, “leading.” Only non-designers use the terms, “line spacing” or “interline spacing.” yuck. What is kerning? Kerning* is the process of adjusting the spacing between individual characters in a word to achieve a visually pleasing result. This is not to be confused with tracking which refers to uniform letter spacing within one or more words at a time. Examples DAVID DAV I D Bad kerning Good kerning fix this! fix this! I walked the dog tonight. I walked the dog tonight. Kerning Tracking *Kerning can also be called “mortising” but this is a VERY uncommon term and you might confuse and/or frustrate other designers if you use this term. Or maybe they’ll think you’re really smart. You never know. © Kristi Norgaard.