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Self-Spacing Type. (Inland Printer.)

The common widths of book pages, miscellaneous jobs, and newspaper columns are to some number of pica ems; therefore the pica em is taken as the basis for the self-spacing type. The thinnest space in all founts is some exact fraction of a pica, and this fraction of pica is called the unit of measure. All characters, spaces, and quads in the fount are made some exact multiple of this unit in width, so that the sizes of all faces will work perfectly together in the regular labor-saving measures. This unit of measure may be one-sixth, one-seventh, one-eighth, one-ninth, one-tenth, &c., of a pica em, as may be desired, to produce condensed, medium, or extended faces. The following table gives the sizes of bodies, units of measure, and lengths of alphabets. In the first column will be found the various sizes of bodies; in the second, the number of units contained in one em pica; and in the third the measurements of a lower-case alphabet in ems of each particular body:

In the foregoing table will be noticed a nonpareil with one-twelfth of pica as a unit of measure. This is one-sixth of the body of nonpareil, or the six-to-em space, which preserves in this particular fount the old three-to-em space and the old en and em quads. The same is true of the brevier on one-ninth of pica, the Bourgeois on one-eighth of pica, and the pica on one-sixth of pica.

The minion on one-twelfth of pica will have as its unit a seven-to-em space, or one-seventh of the minion body, and will set at right angles or work into squares of the body, as will also the pica on one-seventh of pica. The nonpareil on one-tenth of pica has the old five-to-em space of nonpareil as its unit, and will work into squares of nonpareil or pica.

In a complete fount of the old kind of body-type there are about 190 widths of bodies. Appended is a table showing the different widths of bodies of self-spacing old-style. It will be readily seen that there are but nine widths of bodies all told, and that the four-unit width predominates largely over any other, there being fifty-nine characters of this width. We omit the italic characters from the table, as they all go on the same widths of bodies, and are interchangeable with the roman:

In roman founts, except old-style, there are but eight widths of bodies, the eight-unit width being omitted.

Any compositor can see that no combination of units can be made that will not come within a certain number of exact units of filling a line. If a line of matter lacks, it must lack one or more exact units.

Self-spacing type sets line-for-line with the ordinary roman, when the lengths of the alphabets are the same.

Repeated experiments with the new type have shown that the average compositor gains about twenty-five per cent. in speed, with no trouble in justification whatever. In the matter of the correction of proofs the gain is enormous. Say there is an a for an e; as a is four units wide and e three, e and a one-unit space justify the line perfectly. Even this measure of trouble is avoided in many instances. As twenty-six of the most common lower-case characters are of the same width, they can be substituted for one another without the change of a space.

Another item worthy of consideration is the greater durability of the type. It is always on its feet, and therefore is not worn by « pounding. »

In tabular work there is a great gain in speed and neatness. By the addition of the new character |, it is easy to set perpendicular lines of any length, line by line.

Self-spacing type does not require a conscious effort to master its principle—the compositor acquires intuitively and at once all that is necessary for the perfect use of the system. He is relieved of the mental process of spacing and justifying which he now goes through.

This system secures a regular relation between letters, spaces, and figures. Under the present lack of system, the three-to-em space and the en figure are used, no matter whether the face be expanded or compressed; in self-spacing type every character and space will be increased or decreased in width relatively with the face of the type. Finally, the changes in the proportions of the letters have made the type more legible, and less injurious to the eyes.