Best Of
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Re: Is the term ‘foundry’ a proper name for digital companies?
Another point: From the era of photocomposition until the advent of PostScript type, when the metal type foundries had folded or were on their last legs, each machine manufacturer made its own fonts,…5 -
Re: Special dash things: softhyphen, horizontalbar
Three type designers walked into a bar. The first two said, “I must dash,” and left without another word.The third muttered to himself—after a space—“What’s wrong with ’em?”5 -
Re: Florin sign (ƒ)
A short compendium of doppelgängers Pieces of foundry type that did double duty, rotated 180°:• Comma and Left Quote mark• Left and Right Parentheses and Square Brackets• Question/Exclam and Question…6 -
Re: Florin sign (ƒ)
examples of florin variant glyphs after historic manuscripts:11 -
Re: Is the term ‘foundry’ a proper name for digital companies?
It's interesting, I'm pretty sure that nobody in the phototype/cold type days called themselves a foundry. My recollection is that use of the word in relation to making type seemed to fade …6 -
Re: Is the term ‘foundry’ a proper name for digital companies?
I don't mind digital type people using the word foundry, although it seems a little pretentious. Language evolves. Words get their meaning from how people see fit to use them, not from the dicti…6 -
Re: Is the term ‘foundry’ a proper name for digital companies?
In the early 1980s, when most of my work was in design for the music industry, there was a great discussion about whether to keep the word “record” when referring to the new Compact Disc format. I th…8 -
Re: Florin sign (ƒ)
The florin (or at least a hooked and sloped f) was conventional for photo apertures long before Macs were around. (This is from a 1920 journal.)6 -
Re: Is the term ‘foundry’ a proper name for digital companies?
My favourite old documentary word is “scrolling”. A venerable noun cleverly rehabilitated as a verb, quite apropos. I’m also rather fond of “leading”, which some practical folk have tried to replace …5 -
[OTVar] Spacing axis
Recently I proposed to Microsoft the registration of a ‘Spacing axis’ in OpenType Font Variations. Tracking and CSS letterspacing are highly primitive mechanisms and they mess up spacing (for instanc…14
