![]() Initially, this transition occurred with a program called Ikarus around 1980, but widespread transition began with programs such as Aldus Freehand and Adobe Illustrator, and finally to dedicated type design programs called font editors, such as Fontographer and FontLab. With the coming of computers, type design became a form of computer graphics. The resulting letterform, now existing as the remaining red material still adhering to the clear substrate, would then be ready to be photographed using a reproduction camera. Placing the ruby over the master drawing of the letter, the craftsman would gently and precisely cut through the upper film and peel the non-image portions away. Rubylith was a common material in the printing trade, in which a red transparent film, very soft and pliable, was bonded to a supporting clear acetate. ![]() During this time, type design made a similar transition from physical matrixes to hand drawn letters on vellum or mylar and then the precise cutting of "rubyliths". In the late 1960s through the 1980s, typesetting moved from metal to photo composition. The pantographic engraver was first used to cut punches, and later to directly create matrices. The outline was then traced by a Benton pantograph-based engraving machine with a pointer at the hand-held vertex and a cutting tool at the opposite vertex down to a size usually less than a quarter-inch (6 mm). In those early days, type design had to not only imitate the familiar handwritten forms common to readers, but also account for the limitations of the printing process, such as the rough papers of uneven thicknesses, the squeezing or splashing properties of the ink, and the eventual wear on the type itself.īeginning in the 1890s, each character was drawn in a very large size for the American Type Founders Corporation and a few others using their technology-over a foot (30 cm) high. The casting material was an alloy usually containing lead, which had a low melting point, cooled readily, and could be easily filed and finished. The matrix was inserted into the bottom of the adjustable meld and the negative space formed by the mold cavity plus the matrix acted as the master for each letter that was cast. From then until at least 400 years later, type started with cutting punches, which would be struck into a brass "matrix". Gutenberg developed an adjustable mold which could accommodate an infinite variety of widths. ![]() Unlike Chinese characters, which are based on a uniform square area, European Latin characters vary in width, from the very wide "M" to the slender "l". Gutenberg's most important innovation in the mid 15th century development of his press was not the printing itself, but the casting of Latinate types. The technology of printing text using movable type was invented in China, but the vast number of Chinese characters, and the esteem with which calligraphy was held, meant that few distinctive, complete typefaces were created in China in the early centuries of printing. In contrast, it is the task of the typographer (or typesetter) to lay out a page using a typeface that is appropriate to the work to be printed or displayed. It is the art of a type designer to develop a pleasing and functional typeface. Historically, these were physical elements, called sorts, placed in a wooden frame modern typefaces are stored and used electronically. The basic concepts and design variables are described below.Ī typeface differs from other modes of graphic production such as handwriting and drawing in that it is a fixed set of alphanumeric characters with specific characteristics to be used repetitively. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. Specimens of typefaces designed by Eric Gill ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points.
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