Sort (typesetting)
Letters (from French lettre, from Latin littera, "letter" ) or printing type or types are writing body that carry on the head while the bold mirror- image of a character. They are assembled by hand (hand set) or mechanical ( machine unit ) on the statement, which is transmitted in the high pressure, usually with platen presses, on paper.
Since the establishment of the photo set of letters are only occasionally used in letterpress printing ( printing bibliophile books) and for blind embossing. Blind embossing letters exist because of the required hardness and longer life harder brass or lead alloys.
Letters consist of letters metal, an alloy, for example, 67 % lead, 28 % tin 5% antimony, and, sometimes a little copper. The main component lead is the "stuff" ( old name for letters metal) the switch and formability, antimony the necessary hardness, the tin makes for a good connection of the individual metals and a corresponding toughness. Copper increases the hardness and resistance of Scripture. Large letters from 48 points ( 18.05 mm ), eg for posters, were milled also because of the enormous weight of lead letters from wood and plastic.
A letter has an elongated, rectangular body, the cone. On the one narrow side, the head, the image, the mirror-inverted relief of the character to be printed is. The opposite side is called distance. The width of the cone is called Dickte and determines the spacing between characters. The height of the cone, the cone strength (also called cone height ) determines the minimum spacing between lines of text. The shoulder height ranges from foot to head ( without the typeface ). The total height including the typeface is called a font height. It was established in Germany in 1898 to 62 2/3 point ( = 23.56 mm).
Dickte and bowling strength are always slightly larger than the typeface. The distance between individual letters can insert a metal strip ( lead, less than 1 point from brass), cardboard or paper between the cones are enlarged in the hand set by Spacing. A reduction of the distance is accomplished by undercutting, the removal of material at the tapered sides. Letters with kerning were supplied by the font foundries, as well as ligatures ( multiple letters on a cone, eg ' fi ', ' fl " or " sh ", " ch ", etc.).
The font size is not measured by the size of the letters, but by the bowling strength, that is specified in the typographic point of unity. Depending on the font and its relationship between letter height and tapered thickness fonts with the same point size may differ in size, together they only have the minimum possible spacing. The different typeface height at the same point size has been preserved during the transition from hot type to digital font. By way of derogation partly the font size for the mark is used on the boxes in bookbinding. The bookbinder can thus easily choose a font that (eg spine ) matches an existing space.
Some font foundries, it was customary to attach casting marks on the side of the letter. This served the advertising and at the same time the translator to distinguish the font manufacturer. The casting marks were also important because there were fonts and font families, which were cast from several foundries. Partial very successful writings were inspired by other foundries. The brand managed to cast clarity.
Types in a type case
Cast brand
" Great works of the human spirit - the invention of printing ": German stamp from 1983