Printing and bookbinding for schools

by Samuel Jesse Vaughn

Not only is the height or depth of the body determined by the point system, but the width or set of the body (cc´ Fig. 1) is also cast on the point basis. There are no fractional points in the width of type made on the point set basis. Any number of letters or characters placed side by side make an integral number of points. This is called point set.

Also, in case a number of differently faced type with the same body are used in the same line, they are so cast that the different faces line with each other as well as if they were all of the same face.

The system goes still further and makes it possible to use different sizes of type in the same line without difficulty in alignment. This is done by making the lining of the different sizes vary by points, so that the difference can easily be built in with leads and slugs, see page [14]. This line has three different faces and two sizes of type.

Spacing of Words and Letters. Quads and spaces are pieces of metal shorter than the type, and are used to make blank spaces between words and at the ends of lines shorter than the measure.

Fig. 2.

In any size of type there are four kinds of quads. Fig 2 shows the ends of the 8 and 12 point quads and spaces. An em quad is the square of the type body. The 10 point em quad is a square quad whose sides are 10 points wide. An eight point em quad is 8 points or one-ninth of an inch square.

An en quad of any size type is one-half the em quad of that size of type. A two em quad of any size type is equal to two of the square or em quads, and a three em quad is equal to three of the square or em quads laid side by side.

There are four of the thinner blanks in any size of type, known as spaces. The 3-em space is one-third of the em quad; the 4-em space one-fourth of the em quad; and the 5-em space is one-fifth of the em quad. The hair spaces are very thin spaces of copper and brass. These are very seldomly needed in general work.

The em quad must be clearly distinguished from the em pica. Every size of type has its em quad; but the em pica is simply the 12 point standard unit of measurement.