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348 Understanding Fonts
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admin\Desktop\0630_UG??\Mioga_SFP_UG_FM\Mioga_SFP_UG_FM\section21.fm
DELL CONFIDENTIAL – PRELIMINARY 9/13/10 - FOR PROOF ONLY
Pitch and Point Size
The size of a font is specified as either a pitch or point size, depending on
whether the font is fixed space or proportional.
In fixed space fonts, each character has the same width. Pitch is used to specify
the size of fixed space fonts. It is a measure of the number of characters that will
print in one horizontal inch of type. For example, all 10-pitch fonts print 10
characters per inch (cpi) and all 12-pitch fonts print 12 cpi:
In proportional (or typographic) fonts, every character can have a different
width. Since proportional fonts have characters with different widths, the font
size is specified in point size, not pitch. Point size refers to the height of the
characters in the font. A point is defined as 1/72 inch. The characters in a font
printed at 24 point will be twice as large as the characters in the same font
printed at 12 point.
The following illustration shows samples of a font printed in different point
sizes: