Editing Point (typography) (section)

== Varying standards ==

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Various point definitions
! Name || Year || mm ||colspan=2 title="international inch of 25.4&nbsp;mm"| inch
|-
!colspan=5| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.350|u=mm}}
|-
| Fournier<ref>Various sources give different sizes, namely: ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.0135|u=in}}, ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.0137|u=in}}, ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.345|u=mm}}, (exactly) {{val|0.34875|u=mm}}, ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.349|u=mm}}, ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.35|u=mm}}.</ref> 
| 1737
| ≈&nbsp;0.345
|colspan=2| &nbsp;{{val|0.0135}}
|-
| American
| 1886
| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.3515}}
|colspan=2| =&nbsp;{{val|0.013837}}<!-- exact for contemporary US inch, approximate for international inch -->
|-
| Japanese<ref name="JIS Z 8305">JIS Z 8305. <span lang="ja">活字の基準寸法</span>. Dimensions of Printing Types.</ref>
| 1962
| =&nbsp;{{val|0.3514}}
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.013835}}
|-
| TeX&nbsp;{{code|pt}}
| 1982<!-- TeX 2.0 -->
| =&nbsp;0.{{overline|{{gaps|351|459|80}}}}
| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.013837}} || =&nbsp;{{frac|1|72.27}} <!-- 800/803 bp-->
|-
| PostScript, CSS&nbsp;{{code|pt}}, TeX&nbsp;{{code|bp}}
| 1984
| =&nbsp;0.352{{overline|7}}
| =&nbsp;0.013{{overline|8}} || =&nbsp;{{frac|72}}
|-
!colspan=5| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.375|u=mm}}
|-
| Didot
| 1783 <!--1785?-->
| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.375972}}
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.0148}}
|-
| Berthold
| 1878 <!--1879?-->
| ≈&nbsp;0.376 <!--2660 points = 1 meter-->
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.014801}}
|-
| DIN actual,<ref name="DIN 16507-1">DIN 16507-1:1998 and its predecessors, at least since 1964, for lead typecasting defined 2660 points to measure 1000.333&nbsp;mm at 20&nbsp;°C, but for public communication it later introduced a rounder value.</ref> TeX&nbsp;{{code|dd}}
| 1964
| =&nbsp;{{val|0.376065}}
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.014806}}
|-
| DIN nominal,<ref name="DIN 16507-1"/> TeX&nbsp;{{code|nd}}
| 1984
| =&nbsp;{{val|0.375}}
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.014764}}
|-
!colspan=5| Other
|-
| Truchet
| 1694
| ≈&nbsp;0.188
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.007401}}
|-
| L'Imprimerie Nationale nominal
| 1810
| =&nbsp;0.400
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.015748}}
|-
| L'Imprimerie Nationale actual
| 1810
| =&nbsp;0.398 77&nbsp;mm
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.0157}}
|-
| DIN,<ref name="DIN 16507-2">DIN 16507-2 (1984, 1999) does not specify a custom unit for electronic typography, but measures using a module.</ref> Japanese, CSS&nbsp;{{code|q}}
| 1999
| =&nbsp;{{val|0.250}}
|colspan=2| ≈&nbsp;{{val|0.009842}}
|}

There have been many definitions of a "point" since the advent of typography. Traditional continental European points at about {{val|0.375|u=mm}} are usually a bit larger than English points at around {{val|0.350|u=mm}}.

=== French points ===
{{hatnote|See also: [[Units of measurement in France]] for the units used in this section, particularly [[Units of measurement in France before the French Revolution|those used before the French Revolution]].}}

{{anchor|Truchet|Truchet point}}
The '''Truchet point''', the first modern typographic point, was {{frac|1|144}} of a [[French inch]] or {{frac|1|1728}} of the [[pied du Roi|royal foot]]. It was invented by the [[Ancient Regime|French]] [[Catholic Church in France|clergyman]] [[Sébastien Truchet]]. 
During the [[history of the metric system|metrication of France]] amid its [[French Revolution|revolution]], a 1799 law declared the [[meter]] to be exactly 443.296&nbsp;[[French line]]s long. This established a length to the [[pied du Roi|royal foot]] of {{frac|{{val|9000}}|{{val|27706}}}}&nbsp;m or about 325&nbsp;mm. 
The Truchet point therefore became equal to {{frac|{{val|15625}}|{{val|83118}}}}&nbsp;mm or about {{val|0.187986|u=mm}}. 
It has also been cited as exactly 0.188&nbsp;mm.

{{anchor|Fournier|Fournier point}}
The '''Fournier point''' was established by [[Pierre Simon Fournier]] in 1737.<ref name="Fournier1764">{{cite book|last=Fournier|first=Pierre Simon|title=Manuel typographique|url=https://archive.org/details/manueltypograph01gandgoog|year=1764|pages=[https://archive.org/details/manueltypograph01gandgoog/page/n169 125]–138}}</ref><ref name="De Vinne-French">{{cite book|last=De Vinne|first=Theodore Low|title=The practice of typography|volume=1|place=New York|publisher=Century Co.|year=1900|pages=133–145|url=https://archive.org/stream/practiceoftypogr00devirich#page/133/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="LegrosGrant1916" />{{rp|60–66}} The system of Fournier was based on a different French foot<!-- we do not know for sure what foot he used --> of c. 298&nbsp;mm. With the usual convention that 1 foot equals 12 inches, 1 inch (''pouce'') was divided into 12 lines (''lignes'') and 1 line was further divided into 6 typographic points (''points typographiques''). One Fournier point is about 0.0135 English inches.

[[File:FournierScale144pts.jpg|thumb|The Fournier scale: two inches in total, divided into four half-inches, the medium intervals are one line ({{frac|12}} inch), and the smallest intervals are {{frac|36}} inch; no intervals for the point is given, though]]

Fournier printed a reference scale of 144 points over two inches; however, it was too rough to accurately measure a single point.<ref name="De Vinne-French" />

The Fournier point did not achieve lasting popularity despite being revived by the [[Monotype Corporation]] in 1927.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}} It was still a standard in [[Belgium]], in parts of Austria, and in Northern France at the beginning of the 20th century.<ref name="LegrosGrant1916" />{{rp|66}} In Belgium, the Fournier system was used until the 1970s and later. It was called the "mediaan"-system. 

{{anchor|Didot|Didot point}}
The '''Didot point''', established by [[Didot family#François-Ambroise Didot|François-Ambroise Didot]] in 1783,<ref name="BainesHaslam2005">{{cite book|last1=Baines|first1=Phil|last2=Haslam|first2=Andrew|title=Type & Typography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rs6gyb2hPF4C&pg=PA93|year=2005|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|isbn=978-1-85669-437-7|page=93}}</ref> was an attempt to improve the Fournier system. He did not change the subdivisions (1 inch = 12 subdivisions = 72 points), but defined it strictly in terms of the [[pied du Roi|royal foot]], a legal length measure in France: the Didot point is exactly {{frac|1|864}} of a French foot or {{frac|1|72}} of a French inch, that is (by 1799) {{frac|{{val|15625}}|{{val|41559}}}}&nbsp;mm or about {{val|0.375972|u=mm}}. Accordingly, one Didot point is exactly two Truchet points.

However, 12 Fournier points turned out to be 11 Didot points,<ref name="De Vinne-French" />{{rp|142–145}} giving a Fournier point of about {{val|0.345|u=mm}}; later sources<ref name="LegrosGrant1916" />{{rp|60–61}} state it as being {{val|0.34875|u=mm}}. To avoid confusion between the new and the old sizes, Didot also rejected the traditional names, thus ''parisienne'' became ''corps'' 5, ''nonpareille'' became ''corps'' 6, and so on.<ref name="De Vinne-French" />{{rp|143}} The Didot system prevailed because the French government demanded printing in Didot measurements.<ref>L. Ronner, ''Van leerling tot Zetter'', 1913, N.V.De nieuwe Tijd, Amsterdam, pag 30.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Needed an English source or, better, a French legal source of the time where this is clearly demanded|date=March 2018}}

Approximations were subsequently employed, largely owing to the Didot point's unwieldy conversion to metric units (the [[divisor]] of its conversion ratio has the [[prime factorization]] of {{gaps|3|×|7|×|1979}}).

In 1878,<!--1879--> [[Hermann Berthold]] defined 798 points as being equal to 30&nbsp;cm, or 2660 points equalling 1 meter: that gives around {{val|0.376|u=mm}} to the point.<ref name="Smalian1899">{{cite journal|last=Smalian|first=Hermann|title=Type Systems of To-day|journal=The British Printer|volume=XII|issue=68|year=1899|pages=130–131|quote=They commissioned for this purpose the well-known Berlin brass rule manufacturer, H. Berthold, who supplies brass rules not only to most of the German foundries but also to many foreign houses, and he, in conjunction with Prof. W. Fürster, the chief director of the Berlin Observatory, agreed that 2660 typographical points of the Didot system should correspond to one metre. Accordingly the Standard Gauge Commission in Berlin in 1879 arranged a standard measure of 30 centimetres = 133 nonpareil or 798 typographical points, and gave a copy to all the German foundries, and since that time disputes about the Didot depth were unknown in Germany.}}</ref><ref name="Brekle1994">{{cite book|last=Brekle|first=Herbert E.|title=Schrift und Schriftlichkeit / Writing and its Use|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wxc7FAIBwGMC&pg=PA211|year=1994|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-020323-3|page=210ff|chapter=Typographie}}</ref><ref name="Funke1998">{{cite book|last=Funke|first=Fritz|title=Buchkunde|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qeLoBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA194|year=1998|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-094929-2|page=194}}</ref><ref name="Blana1999">{{cite book|last=Blana|first=Hubert|title=Die Herstellung: Ein Handbuch für die Gestaltung, Technik und Kalkulation von Buch, Zeitschrift und Zeitung|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWsgAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA101|year=1999|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-096787-6|page=101}}</ref> A more precise number, {{val|0.376065|u=mm}}, sometimes is given;<ref name="Brekle1994" /><!-- 1000.333/2660, but how did they get this? --> this is used by TeX as the {{code|dd}} unit. This has become the standard in Germany<ref name="DIN 16507-1" /> and Central and Eastern Europe.<ref name="GOST 3489.1-71">{{cite book|title=[[GOST]] 3489.1-71. Printing types (Russian and Roman graphic bases). Group arrangement. Indexing. Base line. Characters per 4 picas|script-title=ru:ГОСТ 3489.1-71. Шрифты типографские (на русской и латинской графических основах). Группировка. Индексация. Линия шрифта. Емкость|chapter=§1.3|quote=Кегль измеряется в типографских пунктах. Типографский пункт равен 0,376 мм.|language=ru}}</ref> This size is still mentioned in the technical regulations of the [[Eurasian Economic Union]].<ref>{{in lang|ru}} Статья 8. Пункт 11. // [http://www.eurasiancommission.org/ru/act/texnreg/deptexreg/tr/Documents/P_797_1.pdf ТР ТС 007/2011. Требования безопасности издательской (книжной и журнальной) продукции, школьно-письменных принадлежностей.]</ref>

=== Metric points ===
pdfTEX, but not plain TeX or LaTeX, also supports a ''new Didot point'' (''nd'') at {{frac|3|8}}&nbsp;mm or {{val|0.375|u=mm}} and refers to a not further specified 1978 redefinition for it.

{{anchor|Other French points}}
The [[French National Print Office]] adopted a point of {{frac|2|5}}&nbsp;mm or {{val|0.400|u=mm}} in about 1810 and continues to use this measurement today (though "recalibrated" to {{val|0.39877|u=mm}}).<ref name="Mosley1997">{{cite journal|last=Mosley|first=James|title=French academicians and modern typography: designing new types in the 1690s|journal=Typography Papers|issue=2|year=1997|pages=5–29|quote=The point in current use at the Imprimerie Nationale measures 0.39877&nbsp;mm. This appears to be the result of a 'recalibration', for which no date can be given, of the point of 0.4 mm.}}</ref><ref name="Bulletin du bibliophile">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f-QVAQAAIAAJ&q=0.4+mm|title=Bulletin du bibliophile|date=2002|page=73|publisher=Promodis |isbn=9782765407768|quote=These latter figures give the size in the 'points millimétriques' of about 0.4&nbsp;mm that are said to have been introduced at the Imprimerie impériale by Firmin Didot and which are the basis for the 'point IN' used today at the Imprimerie nationale.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://typefoundry.blogspot.ru/2008/04/type-bodies-compared.html|title=Type bodies compared|website=Typefoundry|date=30 April 2008}}</ref>
 
Japanese<ref name="JIS">JIS X 4052:2000, JIS Z 8125:2004</ref> and German<ref name="DIN 16507-2" /><ref name="Brekle1994" /><ref name="Blana1999" /> standardization bodies instead opted for a metric typographic base measure of exactly {{frac|1|4}}&nbsp;mm or {{val|0.250|u=mm}}, which is sometimes referred to as the ''quart'' in Japan. The symbol ''Q'' is used in Japanese after the initial letter of ''quarter millimeter''. Due to demand by Japanese typesetters, CSS adopted ''Q'' in 2015.<ref name="CSS-Q">{{cite web|url=https://www.w3.org/TR/css-values-3/#absolute-lengths|title=CSS Values and Units Module Level 3|work=World Wide Web Consortium|date=29 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.w3.org/TR/2015/CR-css-values-3-20150611/#changes |title=CSS Values and Units Module Level 3|work=World Wide Web Consortium|date=11 June 2015}}</ref>

[[ISO 128]] specifies [[preferred number|preferred]] line thicknesses for [[technical drawing]]s and [[ISO 9175]] specifies respective pens. The steps between nominal sizes are based on a factor of √2 ≈ 1.414 in order to match [[ISO 216]] [[paper size]]s. Since the set of sizes includes thicknesses of 0.1&nbsp;mm, 0.5&nbsp;mm, 1&nbsp;mm and 2&nbsp;mm, there is also one of 0.35&nbsp;mm which is almost exactly 1 pica point. In other words, 2<sup>−1.5</sup> mm = {{frac|√8}} mm approximates an English typographic point rather well.

=== American points ===
The basic unit of measurements in American typography was the pica,<ref name="LegrosGrant1916">{{cite book|last1=Legros|first1=Lucien Alphonse|last2=Grant|first2=John Cameron|title=Typographical Printing-Surfaces|date=1916|publisher=Longmann, Green, and Co.|location=London and New York|pages=57–60|isbn=9785872323303|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUkHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57}}</ref><ref name="De Vinne">{{cite book|last=De Vinne|first=Theodore Low|title=The practice of typography|volume=1|place=New York|publisher=Century Co.|year=1900|pages=145–156|url=https://archive.org/stream/practiceoftypogr00devirich#page/145/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name="Hyde1920">{{cite book|last1=Hyde|first1=Grant Milnor|title=Newspaper Editing: A Manual for Editors, Copyreaders, and Students of Newspaper Desk Work|date=1920|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|location=New York and London|pages=226–227|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924014523553#page/n241/mode/2up}}</ref> usually approximated as one sixth of an inch, but the exact size was not standardized, and various type foundries had been using their own.<ref name="LegrosGrant1916" />

During and after the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[Benjamin Franklin]] was sent as commissioner (Ambassador) for the United States to France from December 1776 to 1785.<ref>[http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/ead/upenn_rbml_MsColl900 Benjamin Franklin papers], [http://www.library.upenn.edu/kislak/ Kislak Center for Special Collections], Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania</ref>  While living there he had close contact with the Fournier family, including the father and [[Pierre Simon Fournier]]. Franklin wanted to teach his grandson [[Benjamin Franklin Bache (journalist)|Benjamin Franklin Bache]] about printing and typefounding, and arranged for him to be trained by Francois Ambroise Didot. Franklin then imported French typefounding equipment to Philadelphia to help Bache set up a type-foundry. Around 1790, Bache published a specimen sheet with some Fournier types.<ref>Updike, I, p. 257, II pp. 152-3</ref><ref>Allen Huet, ''Fournier the compleat typographer'', 1972, London, Frederik Muller Ltd, page 3, 4,  62, 63</ref> After the death of Franklin, the matrices and the Fournier mould were acquired by Binny and Ronaldson, the first permanent type-foundry in America. Successive mergers and acquisitions in 1833, 1860 and 1897 saw the company eventually become known as MacKellar, Smith & Jordan. The Fournier cicero mould was used by them to cast pica-sized type.

{{anchor|Hawks|Hawks point|Johnson|Johnson point}}
[[Nelson Hawks]] proposed, like Fournier, to divide one American inch exactly into six picas, and one pica into 12 points. However, this saw an opposition because the majority of foundries had been using picas less than one sixth of an inch. So in 1886, after some examination of various picas, the Type Founders Association of the United States approved the pica of the [[Binny & Ronaldson|L. Johnson & Co.]] foundry of Philadelphia (the "'''Johnson pica'''") as the most established.<ref name="De Vinne" /> The Johnson foundry was influential, being America's first and oldest foundry; established as Binny & Ronaldson in 1796, it would go through several names before being the largest of the 23 foundries that would merge in 1892 to form the American Type Founders Co.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shaw |first1=Paul |title=From the Archives no. 12—The Formation of American Type Founders |url=https://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2011/01/from-the-archives-no-12-the-formation-of-american-type-founders/ |website=Blue Pencil |access-date=September 6, 2023}}</ref> The official definition of one pica is {{convert|0.166044|inch|mm}}, and one point is {{convert|0.013837|inch|mm}}. That means 6 picas or 72 points constitute {{val|0.99624}} standard inches. A less precise definition is one pica equals {{convert|0.166|inch|mm}}, and one point {{convert|0.01383|inch|mm}}.<ref name="De Vinne" /><ref name="APL1890">{{cite journal|title=The American Point System|journal=American Printer and Lithographer|year=1890|volume=11|page=89|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015086752865;view=1up;seq=135;size=150}}</ref> It was also noticed that 83 picas is nearly equal to 35&nbsp;cm, so the Type Founders Association also suggested using a 35&nbsp;cm metal rod for measurements, but this was not accepted by every foundry.<ref name="De Vinne" />

This has become known as the '''American point system'''.<ref name="De Vinne" /><ref name="APL1890" /> The British foundries accepted this in 1898.

In modern times this size of the point has been approximated as exactly {{frac|72.27}} ({{gaps|0.013|837|{{overline|{{gaps|000|138|37}}}}}}) of the inch<ref>{{cite book|last=Knuth|first=Donald E.|title=The TeXbook|edition=17th revised|publisher=Addison-Wesley|year=1990|page=58}}</ref> by [[Donald Knuth]] for the default unit of his [[TeX]] computer typesetting system and is thus sometimes known as the {{nowrap|'''TeX point'''}}, which is 0.{{overline|{{gaps|351|459|80}}}}&nbsp;mm.

===Old English points===
Although the English Monotype manuals used 1 pica = {{convert|0.1660|inch|mm}}, their manuals used on the European continent use another definition. There, 1 pica = {{cvt|0.1667|inch|mm}}, the Old English pica. As a consequence all the tables of measurements in the German, Dutch, French, Polish and all other manuals elsewhere on the European continent for the composition caster and the super-caster are different in quite some details. The Monotype wedges used at the European continent are marked with an extra 'E' behind the set-size: for instance: 5-12E, 1331-15E etc. When working with the E-wedges in the larger sizes, the differences will increase even more.<ref>{{cite book |first=Rich |last=Hopkins |title=Origin of the American Point system for Printers |chapter=Type Measurement |publisher=Hill & Dale |location=Terra Alta, West Virginia |orig-date=1976 |date=1989 |oclc=2524743}}</ref>

=== Desktop publishing point ===

The '''desktop publishing point (DTP point)''' or '''PostScript point''' is defined as {{frac|1|72}} or 0.013{{overline|8}} of an inch, making it equivalent to {{frac|25.4|72}}&nbsp;mm = 0.352{{overline|7}}&nbsp;mm. Twelve points make up a pica, and six picas make an inch.

This specification was found in the Xerox Interpress language used for its early digital printers and further developed by [[John Warnock]] and [[Charles Geschke]] when they created [[Adobe Postscript#History|Adobe PostScript]].{{cn|date=December 2024}} It was adopted by Apple Computer as the standard for the [[display resolution]] of the [[Macintosh 128K|original Macintosh]] desktop computer and the print resolution for the [[LaserWriter]] printer.<ref name="tucker">
{{cite book |first=H. A. |last=Tucker |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlmafkntEqIC&pg=PA296 |chapter=Desktop Publishing |editor-first=Maurice M. de |editor-last=Ruiter |title=Advances in Computer Graphics III |publisher=Springer |year=1988 |isbn=3-540-18788-X |pages=296 }}
</ref>{{fv|date=December 2024}}<ref name="spring">
{{cite book |first=Michael B. |last=Spring |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_MV46vFUrI4C&pg=PA46 |title=Electronic printing and publishing: the document processing revolution |publisher=CRC Press |year=1991 |isbn=0-8247-8544-4 |page=46 }}
</ref>{{fv|date=December 2024}}

In 1996, it was adopted by [[W3C]] for [[Cascading Stylesheets]] (CSS) where it was later related at a [[Dots per inch#Computer monitor DPI standards|fixed 3:4 ratio]] to the [[pixel]] (e.g. 12 pt and 16 px are the same in CSS) due to a general (but wrong) assumption of 96 [[pixel density|pixel-per-inch]] screens.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

=== Apple point ===

Since the advent of high-density [[Retina display|"Retina"]] screens with a much higher resolution than the original 72 dots per inch, Apple's programming environment  [[Xcode]] sizes [[GUI]] elements in ''points'' that are scaled automatically to a whole number of physical [[pixel]]s in order to accommodate for screen size, pixel density and typical viewing distance. This ''[[Cocoa (API)|Cocoa]] point'' is equivalent to the ''pixel'' <code>px</code> unit in [[CSS]], the ''density-independent pixel'' <code>dp</code> on [[Android (operating system)|Android]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Support different pixel densities |url=https://developer.android.com/training/multiscreen/screendensities#TaskUseDP |website=Android Developers Documentation |access-date=21 June 2022}}</ref> and the ''effective pixel'' <code>epx</code> or <code>ep</code> in Windows [[Universal Windows Platform|UWP]].