Type Lore

Presented by the American Amateur Press Association.

Miscellaneous information taken from various type catalogues.

Set Widths of Spaces and Quads

The following table shows the width, measured in points, of various sizes of spaces and quads.

Point size of body
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 24 30 36 42 48 60 72
Thin Spaces   2 3 3 4 4 6 6
Thinner Than 5-em   1.5 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 6 6 8 9
5 to Em   1.5 2 2.5 3 3 3 4 6 6 9 9 12 12
4 to Em 1.5 2 2.5 3 4 4 4 6 8 9 11 12 15 18
3 to Em 2 3 3.5 4 5 5 6 8 10 12 14 16 20 24
En 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 15 18 21 24 30 36
Em Quad 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 24 30 36 42 48 60 72
2-em Quad 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 48  
3-em Quad 18 24 30 36  

Suppose you are setting 10 point type and you need space out at the end of a line. Each 3-to-Em space replaced with two 5-to-Em spaces will use up an extra half point of space on the line. Replacing with one 4-to-Em and one 5-to-Em will use an extra point. And replacing with two 4-to-Em spaces (equivalent to an En space) will increase spacing by 1½ points.

Comparison of Font Schemes

Various foundries offer differing schemes for determining the number of characters in fonts. Many foundries provide a range of font sizes that differ among both typefaces and font height; these sizes are expressed in the number of capital ``A'' and lower case ``a'' characters (and, if figures are offered separately, the number of ``1'' characters).

The table below compares the 16A 36a fonting schemes from ATF, Barco, and The Swamp Press. The percentage numbers indicate the ratio the letter represents in either the upper or lower case alphabet.

Tables showing the full range of font sizes for ATF, Barco, and Berliner (15A 30a) are provided on separate pages. The Swamp Press offers two schemes: 16A 36a for 6 through 18 point and 10A 18a for 24 through 36 point.

Upper Case   Lower Case
 
ATF Barco Swamp
A 16 6.1% 16 6.1% 16 6.3%
B 7 2.7% 7 2.7% 6 2.4%
C 11 4.2% 11 4.2% 8 3.2%
D 9 3.4% 9 3.4% 10 4.0%
E 19 7.3% 19 7.3% 26 10.3%
F 8 3.1% 8 3.1% 6 2.4%
G 8 3.1% 8 3.1% 6 2.4%
H 9 3.4% 9 3.4% 12 4.8%
I 16 6.1% 16 6.1% 16 6.3%
J 5 1.9% 5 1.9% 4 1.6%
K 5 1.9% 5 1.9% 4 1.6%
L 11 4.2% 11 4.2% 10 4.0%
M 9 3.4% 9 3.4% 8 3.2%
N 16 6.1% 16 6.1% 14 5.6%
O 16 6.1% 16 6.1% 14 5.6%
P 9 3.4% 9 3.4% 6 2.4%
Q 4 1.5% 4 1.5% 4 1.6%
R 16 6.1% 16 6.1% 14 5.6%
S 16 6.1% 16 6.1% 16 6.3%
T 16 6.1% 16 6.1% 20 7.9%
U 9 3.4% 9 3.4% 8 3.2%
V 5 1.9% 5 1.9% 4 1.6%
W 7 2.7% 7 2.7% 6 2.4%
X 4 1.5% 4 1.5% 4 1.6%
Y 7 2.7% 7 2.7% 6 2.4%
Z 4 1.5% 4 1.5% 4 1.6%
& 4   4   6  
. 16   16      
, 16   16      
' 8   8      
- 5   5      
: 4   4      
; 4   4      
! 4   4      
? 4   4      
Note: ATF fonted figures separately
1 12   5   16  
2 10   4   10  
3 10   4   10  
4 10   4   8  
5 10   4   8  
6 10   4   8  
7 10   4   8  
8 10   4   8  
9 10   4   10  
0 15   6   16  
$ 10          
. 15          
, 10          
- 4          
 		    
ATF Barco Swamp
a

36

6.4%

36

6.3%

36

7.2%

b

 15 2.7% 15 2.6% 10 2.0%

c

 19 3.4% 19 3.4% 16 3.2%

d

 22 3.9% 23 4.1% 20 4.0%

e

 48 8.5% 48 8.5% 58 11.6%

f

 19 3.4% 19 3.4% 12 2.4%

g

 15 2.7% 15 2.6% 10 2.0%

h

 24 4.2% 24 4.2% 24 4.8%

i

 36 6.4% 36 6.3% 36 7.2%

j

 9 1.6% 9 1.6% 4 0.8%

k

 9 1.6% 9 1.6% 6 1.2%

l

 24 4.2% 24 4.2% 20 4.0%

m

 19 3.4% 19 3.4% 14 2.8%

n

 36 6.4% 36 6.3% 32 6.4%

o

 36 6.4% 36 6.3% 32 6.4%

p

 15 2.7% 15 2.6% 12 2.4%

q

 6 1.1% 6 1.1% 4 0.8%

r

 36 6.4% 36 6.3% 26 5.2%

s

 36 6.4% 36 6.3% 32 6.4%

t

 36 6.4% 36 6.3% 40 8.0%

u

 19 3.4% 19 3.4% 18 3.6%

v

 9 1.6% 9 1.6% 8 1.6%

w

 15 2.7% 15 2.6% 10 2.0%

x

 6 1.1% 6 1.1% 6 1.2%

y

 15 2.7% 15 2.6% 10 2.0%

z

 6 1.1% 6 1.1% 4 0.8%

.

 19   19   20  

,

 19   19   30  

'

 6   6   10  

-

 5   5   8  

:

 3   3   6  

;

 3   3   6  

!

 3   3   4  

?

 3   3   4  

ff

 4   6   6  

fi

 4   6   8  

fl

 3   6   6  

ffi

 3   6   6  

ffl

 3   6   6  
 

Be sure to visit the other AAPA pages related to Letterpress Printing:

Go to the AAPA home page.

This page was last modified August 17, 2006

Dave Tribby / dtribby@stanfordalumni.org