Typesetting revolutionized the world. It allowed information to be easily spread from person to person and made it much easier to store information. Originally, printing was done by carving on wood tablets and printing pages. This changed with invention of movable typesetting. These advances allowed knowledge to grow and be shared in all fields. Typesetting revolutionized the world and allowed things to change. The art of typesetting began in 1491 with the printing of the Gutenberg Bible.



Typesetting Visionaries Johannes Gutenberg was the first one to use movable type in the printing process. This made it much easier to design new pages, and to print new information. His designs stayed in place until the twentieth century. William Caxton was the first English printer. He translated and printed more than 70 books during his lifetime. He was able to preserve and print many of the classics in English literature, such as the Canterbury Tales and the Morte D Arthur. He worked to standardize the English language and to make the written language match the language that was spoken on a daily basis. John Baskerville made many strides in typesetting. He developed a way of making paper that made it easier to read. He also created a more defined typesetting, and began leading the 'lines of type' so that there were more space between them. Additionally, he added margins to the page. Frederic Goudy was an American typesetter who focused primarily on designing several different types of fonts. Throughout his life he designed over 120 different fonts. He also taught many students who went on to become influential in the printing world. His focus was to create a readable font that allowed more words to be set per line.

Elements of Typesetting

Typesetting is about bringing written material to the printed page. Many of the elements involve proper punctuation, spacing, and the use of margins. Initially the text was set by hand using movable type, but now many of the typesetting functions are done digitally.For example, typesetting elements regulate where the period comes immediately after the last word of a sentence, instead of allowing a space in between. The typesetting also determines the amount that an indent at the beginning of a paragraph would take (typically five spaces). Typesetting design also determines the amount of space between lines, how far in the margins are from the edge of a page (usually an inch), and other design elements. Books will often credit the design of the typesetting to a particular person.

Glossary of Typesetting Terms

* Bleed—Refers to a graphic or text that goes past the edge of the page * Bold Type—A font that is darkened to provide emphasis or bring attention to a piece of information. * Caption—The title or explanation of a photo that appears underneath it or next to it. * Font—All of one set of typeface that shares the same style, size, and elements. This is different from font family--which would include different sizes of type. * Header—A line of information that appears at the top of every page. This often includes the author's or book's name, or the name of the chapter and page number. * Kerning—The amount of spacing between letters. This affects the readability of the material. * Leading—The amount of space between the lines of type. When you are talking about single or double-spacing you are actually talking about leading. * Margins—The amount of white space around the edges of a paper. Generally this is about one inch. * Orphan—When the beginning or last line of a paragraph is left alone at the top or the bottom of a page. * Typography—The study of typesetting and how to achieve the best overall look using all of the elements of typesetting.

Online Typesetting Glossaries

K-International : Offers a complete glossary of typesetting terms
Typography-1st : Offers another glossary for typesetting
Design Talkboard : Offers a glossary on fonts and typography terms


With the development of computers, the way that people approach typesetting has changed. In many ways the digital age has made the typesetting process easier and quicker, as computers tell printers what to do. It is also easier to make changes in the text. Typesetting is still important in web design and other forms of online media.


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