Typometer
A typometer or typo measure is a typographic scale , an aid for typesetters .
For the set with movable letters, the typometer is made of brass (nickel-plated), nickel silver or steel , the classic models had a hook-shaped stop at the zero point. The divisions that are applied include frequently occurring font sizes in the typographic system of measurement ( typographic point ) such as petit , nonpareille , cicero , concordance . There is also a division in millimeters. The main task was the measurement and control of font sizes, cone height , line length and penetration .
In the age of digital typesetting, typometers made of transparent plastic around 10.5 centimeters wide and 32 centimeters long are used almost exclusively . It is used for measuring and calculating the text size by converting font sizes from - now less common - typographic point ( Didot point ) to the metric system and vice versa. The typometer is based on the standardization of the typographical point system made by Hermann Berthold for Germany, which he adjusted to the metric system in 1897. To do this, he divided the meter into 2,660 typographical points. The new system was used to standardize the height of the cone of metal type fonts. These were previously very different, as the basic dimensions of the Didot system (foot, French pied-du-roi ) were not implemented uniformly in Germany.
In addition, the typometer is used to determine the line spacing and number of lines, the font size ( capital height ) and the line spacing for a given template, line widths and, for some typometers, the screen rulings of printed images (screen counter with autotypical raster). The values can be read off by placing the typometer on a printed sentence. In electronic pre-Typometer times were also used to order on a light table guides to create for later printing film, so that the print space could be maintained.
In addition to the thread counter, a typometer is an important tool of the media designer and typesetter . These tools are increasingly being replaced by the advancing digitization of prepress or are only used to control the end product. Despite increasing paperless work opportunities, an intermediate check ( proofprint ) is still necessary, since older program versions of Photoshop or GIMP did not work with millimeter precision at least until 2004, and manual corrections are almost always necessary if the end product is to be correct. In the meantime, however, the manufacturers have reacted. Current versions of InDesign , XPress and Photoshop work precisely. Especially when it comes to checking font sizes, there is sometimes confusion because manufacturers do not dimension their fonts uniformly. Some work with the cone height, others with the capital height.