#Pica definition ruler pro

(I have about 15 different “Garamond”s on my computer and I have to specify Simoncini Garamond, or Garamond Three, or Adobe Garamond Pro as opposed to Adobe Garamond, etc. The look, the style of the letter shapes is an entirely different question and you are right to look at the tiny differences in the shapes of the serifs or the angle and length of the tail of the “Q” and so on, to distinguish the typefaces, but do so without relying on the simple names of those faces. It is simply a question of how many characters you can fit on a line and the related idea of whether you want your page to look dense (elite) or airier (pica) or if you are a student, how quickly you can fill up ten pages (pica is faster). The use of the word “Pica” in the names of typefaces is a purely proprietary and idiosyncratic practice, applied according to the whim of the manufacturer there is no definitive Pica typeface, nor an Elite one for that matter. (In the graphic arts and typography fields, “pica” is a measurement amounting to 1/6 of an inch, and this is unrelated to anything in the typewriter realm.) (Note all the Smith Corona models with 10 or 12 in their names.) Both sizes usually print out 6 lines per vertical inch. It was and still should be a simple way of letting customers know that a typewriter printed largeish or smallish letters on the page. To be brief and absolute–in the typewriter world, “pica” strictly means nothing more definite than “10 characters per inch” and “elite” means nothing more than “12 characters per inch”. It’s good to see this topic finally baldly exposed! I am going to claim some authority here, because I worked as a typewriter salesman in the ’70s (Smith Corona and Olivetti) and even more to the point, I have an long-established career in book design, relying heavily on a knowledge of typography. Then those companies might give the typeface different names! When you look closely at a typehead you can sometimes see a mark that cryptically indicates its manufacturer. To further complicate things, I’ve heard that there were type companies that provided type ready-made to (some) typewriter manufacturers, so the same typeface might show up on typewriters from two different companies.

But are all Picas exactly the same Pica? I don’t think so. I reviewed your very useful NOMDA style books and see that many manufacturers called their basic typeface “Pica” (at least when it was 10 cpi). Admittedly the numerals are where these typing samples differ the most, but I see differences in some letters too, most noticeable perhaps in the little “a.” (Compare the potbellied SCM “a” to the more demure Remington “a” in the next typing sample.) There is a high degree of similarity between these typefaces, but they’re not identical. I frankly don’t think there is such a thing as THE typestyle we call Pica. Thanks for putting these type samples up for easy comparison, and for raising a good question.