With these details settled, the sample page is next in order. Knowing
that the book is to be a 12mo (size of leaf 5⅛ × 7⅝) or a 10mo (size
of leaf 5½ × 8¼), the printer must "lay out" the page so as to leave
margins of proper size and proportion. A 12mo type page may vary from
3 × 5¼ inches to 4 × 6¾ inches. Somewhere within this area, in the
given example, the page must contain about 280 words. If the manuscript
is long, then the type page must be large, the type itself small (never
smaller than long primer[36] nor larger than pica[36]), the leads[36]
reduced or omitted altogether. This is where the printer's taste and
skill is given an opportunity for expression: he is the architect
of the book, and must not combine types or decorations which are
inharmonious, and his proportions must be kept correct.
For his sample page for the given novel, the printer would select from
these standard faces:
[Illustration: PICA OR 12-POINT OLD STYLE
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP ABCDEFGHIJKLM
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP abcdefghijklmno_]
[Illustration: PICA OR 12-POINT CASLON OLD STYLE
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwx 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLM ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890_
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVW_]
[Illustration: PICA OR 12-POINT SCOTCH
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwx 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLM ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890_
_ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVW_]
[Illustration: PICA OR 12-POINT MODERN
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwx 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLM ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
_ABCDEFGHIJKLM abcdefghijklmnop_]
[Illustration: SMALL PICA OR 11-POINT OLD STYLE
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabc 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP abcdefghijklmnopq_]
[Illustration: SMALL PICA OR 11-POINT CASLON OLD STYLE
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890&_
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY_]
[Illustration: SMALL PICA OR 11-POINT SCOTCH
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP ABCDEFGHIJKL
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO abcdefghijklmnop_]
[Illustration: SMALL PICA OR 11-POINT MODERN
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwyz 1234567890
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO ABCDEFGHIJKLM
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMN abcdefghijklmnopq_]
[Illustration: LONG PRIMER OR 10-POINT OLD STYLE
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 abcde
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP abcdefghijklmnopqrstu_]
[Illustration: LONG PRIMER OR 10-POINT CASLON OLD STYLE
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 abc
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
_abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 & abc_
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZIS_]
[Illustration: LONG PRIMER OR 10-POINT SCOTCH
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 abc
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO& abcdefghijklmnopqr_]
[Illustration: LONG PRIMER OR 10-POINT MODERN
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 abc
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP abcdefghijklmnopqr_]
Type sizes in the present day are determined by the point system, the
fundamental unit of which is the point. This is obtained by dividing
a length of 13⅘ inches into 996 equal parts, each one being called a
point. One point is therefore .0138 of an inch or 72.46 points are
equal to 1 inch.
For purposes of convenience, a point is expressed as being 1/72 of an
inch. Thus 6-point type occupies 6/72 of an inch of space, 12-point
12/72 and so on. This does not mean, however, that the actual printed
face occupies six points on the paper, but that it is six points from
the base to the top of the body carrying the face.
In other words, one may say that it is 12 points from the bottom of
one line of 12-point type to the _bottom_ of the next line of 12-point
type, etc.
The pica is the standard of measurement of the old system, and is equal
to 12 points of the new system; thus six picas are equal to 1 inch or
72 points. Printers still estimate the length and width of a page or a
column by the pica; thus a page 4 inches wide is 24 picas.
The "em" is the square of a type body. Thus a "12-point em" is 12
points wide and 12 points long, or 1 pica long and 1 pica wide. A
"10-point em" is a 10 point square, etc. The em used in measuring
newspaper column widths, magazine columns, etc., is known as the em
pica, which is 12 points square.
In using larger faces for headings and display, or smaller faces for
footnotes or quoted matter, the printer will select from the same
family to which the type belongs, or from some family which combines
with it harmoniously. Old-style faces should not be used with modern
faces, but the Scotch face, which is a cross between old-style and
modern, combines well with either.
As to leading, this volume is leaded with a 1-point lead; between the
first and second lines of the preceding paragraph there is no leading
(technically, "set solid"); between the second and third, a 2-point
lead, and between the third and fourth, a 3-point lead.
In technical volumes and schoolbooks the Old Style Antique type is
largely used for subject-headings and side-notes:
[Illustration: LONG PRIMER OR 10-POINT OLD STYLE ANTIQUE
=abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 abc
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ&AJ=]