Page 74 - Studio International - September 1968

which are noticably poor in 'fitting', as the type-
founders call it.
There are two objectives in the exercise : to ensure that
characters group themselves into words with the right
amount of cohesion, but remain fully identifiable as
individuals.
That method of spacing in the manufacture of typo-
graphic characters is traditional. It is a convention, if
you like; and until recently it has not been challenged. at specimens of fifteenth-century black-letter types
Typographic characters are put together by compositors shows that the spacing of the letters conforms to the
in printing offices. Their ranks have been joined recently principles outlined above; their thick texture (gained at
by a new set of people who compose 'types' into words the expense of legibility, as A F Johnson remarks2) is
and lines for reproduction purposes. They might be due to the heavy letter forms and narrow counters.
called studio 'compositors', because they work with
rub-down letters or desk-top film-setting devices in, say, It seems that a shaky hypothesis has been constructed
the studios of advertising agencies. They have dis- after the event. It is probable that someone in advertising
covered that on the letter sheets or film plates they use, realized that close-set type is easy to do, decided that it
the guide lines provided for traditional character spacing gave a 'new look', sighed with relief ( because in
can be ignored and the letters set close together. This advertising a new look is ipso facto a good look), made a
they do, and evidently think it is a good thing, because short speech about typographic 'freedom', and was
the advertisement pages are currently full of examples promptly imitated by everyone else. The result : a new
of this compacted type-setting. As our specimens show, convention. Time will show if it is merely a fashionable
it is not simply the improvement of the spacing of such trick, fast becoming a design cliche, and like most such
awkward letters as W and A which is attempted; the things, due to disappear in short order.
space between all letters is reduced to a minimum. If that were all, it would hardly be worth discussing
Seeking a reason for this departure, one would listen ( except to note that it must be difficult to teach the
seriously to the proposition that it does not matter elements of typography nowadays ). But there is one
whether the effect of the convention is good or bad— the good reason for drawing attention to it. There are
convention itself, like all traditions, must be defied, so sound and serious men at work creating and developing
as to open the way to a wider range of expression and typesetting devices of remarkable range and complexity.
new and stimulating forms of presentation. Wrong- These men are engineers and scientists, familiar with
headed though that would be, it would at least be stroboscopes, cathode rays and logic systems but ( some
arguable in aesthetic terms. But it has not been proposed. of them, anyway) not close to a reliable source of
What has been said is that the convention is wrong, and typographic guidance. It would be a pity if any of them
has been so almost since typefounding began. 'In the were misled by current advertising typography into
early years of printing the rhythm of the manuscript taking it as a suitable model for every other kind of
both in letterforms and in spacing was carefully followed alphabetic communication.
—but printing never produced an equally satisfactory Advertising has its critics on the sociological side, and
rhythm of its own.'1 This seems to be saying that early its attitudes are frequently irritating. But there is this
black-letter types were close-fitted and good, and the to be said for it : it does a lot to keep the graphic arts
roman types which followed were not. In fact, a glance alive—though it is not doing much in that way at present.
Castiglioncello 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Examples of studio typesetting.
Rub-down versions of printers' types, the space
between letters reduced or eliminated by the studio
compositor. Most of them are from British periodicals.
American and European typographers have the
Llandudno character-spacing.
means, but seem content with conventional