Table of Contents
Foreword.
Introduction.
I. TYPOGRAPHIC BASICS.
1. The State of the Art and How We Got Here.
The Building Blocks of Type. Evolution and Automation. Desktop
Publishing Alters the Rules. Output Resolution and Type
Quality.
2. Units of Typographic Measurement.
Absolute Measurements. Relative Units. Other Units of Measure.
3.
About Typefaces.
Definitions: Font versus Typeface. Type Design and the Em Square.
Type Anatomy. Optical Aspects of Typeface Design. Size Changes
Everything. Principal Features of Typefaces. Typefaces as Role
Players: Text, Display, and Decorative. Classifying Typefaces by
Historical Period. Typeface-Naming Issues.
4. About
Fonts.
The Two Basic Kinds of Fonts: Outline and Bitmapped. What's in a
Font? Cross-Platform Font—Compatibility Issues. Finding the
Characters You Need. Identifying Font Formats. The Basics of Font
Management. Font-Editing Programs.
5. The Basics of Using
Typefaces.
Readability. Traditional Roles for Seriffed and Sans Serif Types.
Expressing Emphasis. Uses for Condensed and Extended Faces. Using
Display Type. Using Decorative Type. Type in Color. Reverses.
6.
Typesetting versus Typewriting.
Pages Sizes and Line Lengths. Word Spaces. Line Endings and
Carriage Returns. Typeface Choice and Point Size. Unavailable
Characters. Tabs.
7. Setting Type on a Personal Computer.
Typesetting and the Word Processing Legacy. How WYSIWYG Works. How
Operating Systems Manage Fonts. Font Embedding. Font Copyright
Issues.
8. What Make Good Type Good (and Bad Type Bad).
Legibility and Readability. Type Color. Optical Effects and
Alignment Problems. The Eyes Have It.
II. HOW TO SET TYPE.
9. Measure, Point Size, and Leading.
Line Length, or Measure. Leading. Typeface-Specific
Considerations.
10. Controlling Hyphenation and
Justification.
What Hyphenation and Justification Means. Controlling Word and
Letter Spaces. Controlling Hyphenation. How Measure Affects
H&J. Specifying Word-Space Ranges in Ragged-Margin Type.
Specifying Word-Space Ranges in Text with Justified Margins.
Specifying Letter-Space Ranges. Altering Character Widths during
H&J. Testing Your H&J Values. Fixing and Avoiding
Composition Problems. Aesthetic Rags.
11. Kerning and
Tracking.
Definitions: Kerning and Tracking. Kerning in Practice. Using
Tracking Controls.
12. Managing Indention and Alignment.
Kinds of Indents. Skews and Wraps. Alignments of Characters and
Text Blocks. Visual Alignment.
13. Special Characters and Special
Situations.
Extended Character Sets. Small Capitals. Old-Style Numbers.
Ligatures, Logotypes, and Diphthongs. Swash Characters. Superiors,
Inferiors, and Ordinals. Fractions. Dashes. Points of Ellipsis.
Common Pi Characters. Accented Characters. Character-Specific
Spacing Issues. Initial Capitals.
14. Document Structures and
Typographic Conventions.
Structural Elements. Navigation Tools. Independent Text Units.
Indexes. Bibliographies.
15. Tables.
The Structure of Tables. Table-Setting Techniques. Faking It.
16.
Language-Specific Issues.
Character Sets. Hyphenation. Time Expressions. Currency Symbols.
British English versus American English. French Typographic
Conventions. Spanish Typographic Conventions. Italian Typographic
Conventions. German Typographic Conventions.
17. Typesetting with
Style Sheets.
How Style Sheets Work. Creating Style Sheets. Using Style
Sheets.
18. Output-Resolution Issues.
The Advantages of High-Resolution Output. Type Onscreen. Typography
and the World Wide Web.Glossary. Index. Further Reading.
Promotional Information
With traditional type shops gone the way of the typewriter, the
knowledge base that resided there is fast disappearing as well.
It's not surprising, then, that when James Felici began writing
a type column for Adobe's Web site, he was asked repeatedly to
recommend a book that could answer these questions. But nothing fit
the bill. Design books, yes, but no broad historical and practical
reference about typesetting. This, is that book. Presented in a
beautifully illustrated design format, The Big Type Book is the
ultimate typesetting reference for publishing pros and educators.
Part One of the book, Typographic Basics, moves from the first
typesetting and printing systems all the way to the digital age.
Included are chapters on the history and evolution of type,
typefaces and fonts, setting type on personal computers, and more.
Part Two, How to Set Type, gets down to the nitty-gritty with
step-by-step instructions in all aspects of typesetting--from
setting line length, point size, and letting, to kerning and
tracking, nonstandard type treatments, and more. Beginners will
want to read The Big Type Book from cover to cover, while more
experienced type pros can go straight to the index to find focused
answers to specific questions. For anyone who deals with
type-publishing professionals, educators, students, and more--The
Big Type Book provides historical perspective, practical guidance,
and focused solutions.
About the Author
James Felici has worked in the publishing industry-in
both editorial and production-for over 30 years. A veteran
journalist and former managing editor of Publish magazine, he has
set type by hand as well as on systems from IBM, Linotype,
Compugraphic, CCI, and Magna. His other books include The Desktop
Style Guide (Bantam/ITC), How to Get Great Type Out of Your
Computer (North Light), and contributions to The Macintosh Bible
(Peachpit Press). He writes for numerous publications including PC
World,Macworld, and The Seybold Report, and is a featured speaker
at Seybold Seminars, Macworld Expo, and other events worldwide.