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Subject:RE: Need a smarter person than me From:Kim Roper <kim -dot- roper -at- pixelink -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 12 Mar 2003 10:10:37 -0500
Rob Domaschuk wrote:
> HOWEVER, the 72pts=1" is not an absolute - for example, type
> a line of text
> in your favorite Word processor, and then copy that text to a
> new line (so
> that you have two lines of the exact same text). Make both
> lines 13 point,
> but one should be Arial and the other Times New Roman. See
> how they are
> different sizes? 72 points to an inch is an approximation
> when it comes to
> computer typography.
Use that method with caution. A difference in x-height (the height of a
lower-case x) can give the appearance of a difference in font size. The
smaller the x-height, the smaller the type face looks.
As well, it is misleading to type several lines of text then measure the
total height and divide by the number of lines. That metric gives you an
indication of the line height (a.k.a. line spacing), not the height of the
type face. These are independent beasts. This is a useful thing to know if
you need to squeeze a little more text onto a page--simply reduce the line
height a little. In Word, this is option is under Format --> Paragraph, in
the Indents and Spacing tab.
There are 12 points in a pica. Looking at my typography ruler, I see that
72 picas is about a sixteenth of an inch shy of 12 inches. In general,
assuming that there are 72 points to the inch will still give you more
precision than the options Word offers.
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