Type Terms

Carl Shank • March 14, 2023

Type and Printing Terminology. When I was employed in a very busy print shop outside of Washington, D.C. customers would come into the shop asking for printing help and advice. Usually, the conversation would go something like this — "I need some invitations to a party I am hosting. What do you recommend?" I would respond by asking what kind of party and who is invited, trying to get some idea as to the type of invitation that would be appropriate. Sometimes I would pull out a sample book of invitations for the customer to peruse.


When I would ask what kind of type they would want, the conversation would continue — "Oh, I don't know. Something that will grab their attention, maybe big type with an illustration or picture." Or, if it was a pamphlet they wanted printed, they would say, "Just make it easy to read." They knew little to nothing about typefaces and fonts or display type and leading and those things typesetters and printers almost take for granted. They did not know the language or enough about printing and typography to guide the conversation or answer a few leading questions. Or, they would produce a piece they received somewhere and ask if we could imitate that in our set up and printing. As I would seek to explain what was involved, there would be a deer-in-the-headlights kind of interaction that would take place. Big, small, medium size, looks nice, easy to read at a distance, similar to what I saw downtown — these would be their guiding hints.


Certainly, everyone needs a bit of education as to typography and printing language. And this not only for those of us in the business, but for inquiring customers and consumers of printed pieces as well. There are good type and printing glossary guides available.* Here's a sampling of what might be helpful the next time you go to the printshop for some help.


*https://www.canva.com/learn/typography-terms/. https://www.monotype.com/resources/z-typographic-terms. Glossary of Typesetting Terms (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing), University of Chicago Press, 2008.

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Advanced Practical Typography: A Review of Walter B. Gress’s Contribution (2)

By Carl Shank • August 9, 2026
As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, Walter B. Gress was associated with the American printing trade during the era when letterpress printing, hot-metal composition, and mechanized presses dominated commercial printing. Rather than introducing new typefaces or typographic theories, Gress focused on practical craftsmanship, emphasizing accuracy, efficiency, and standardized production methods. Gress was most interested in the professional ideals of American commercial printing in the early twentieth century, consisting of legibility over ornament, consistency in composition, careful spacing and alignment, correct use of type families, high standards of proofreading, and the efficient workflow in the composing room. His work and teaching occurred during a transitional period in printing history, where hand composition still existed alongside mechanical typesetting. Linotype and Monotype systems were becoming standard. Commercial printing was expanding rapidly. Trade schools increasingly required instructional texts. Our overview will consider topics from his practical textbook, Advanced Typography , Instructor in Typography, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Member, American Institute of Graphic Arts (United Typothetae of America, Washington, D.C., 1931). He was most interested in type choices, harmony of type, balance in typographic composition, tone and contrast, legibility and proportionality. Display type should be applied sparingly. His advice covered detailed book composition, and in display work, everything from business cards, envelopes, letterheads, billheads and statements, receipts, banking forms, rule forms, tags and labels, tickets, blotters, announcements, and handbills, to window cards and posters. Gress worked during the age of metal type, hand composition and offset presses. His advice is somewhat dated, but highly advisable for do-it-yourself-printing and desktop publishing.

Advanced Practical Typography: A Review of Walter B. Gress’s Contribution (1)

By Carl Shank • August 6, 2026
Walter B. Gress was associated with the American printing trade during the era when letterpress printing, hot-metal composition, and mechanized presses dominated commercial printing. Rather than introducing new typefaces or typographic theories, Gress focused on practical craftsmanship, emphasizing accuracy, efficiency, and standardized production methods. Gress’s lasting contribution lies in documenting the craft knowledge of the traditional printing office. His work bridges the nineteenth-century tradition of manual typography and the increasingly mechanized printing industry of the twentieth century, preserving techniques and standards that shaped generations of American printers. His most famous work was The American Handbook of Printing (1913). This book covered nearly every aspect of an early American commercial printing office. It addressed such topics as typography and composition hand typesetting, proof correction, imposition, lock-up and presswork, paper selection, inks, estimating jobs, printing-office management and printing terminology. Gress was most interested in the professional ideals of American commercial printing in the early twentieth century, consisting of legibility over ornament, consistency in composition, careful spacing and alignment, correct use of type families, high standards of proofreading, and the efficient workflow in the composing room. His work and teaching occurred during a transitional period in printing history, where hand composition still existed alongside mechanical typesetting. Linotype and Monotype systems were becoming standard. Commercial printing was expanding rapidly. Trade schools increasingly required instructional texts.
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