Old English |
Nicolas Jenson |
Ludlow Black with Italic |
Lining Litho Light |
Jensen Open 18, 24 and 36 |
Record Gothic |
BELL TYPE & RULE COMPANY Hot Foil Stamping Type Machines Supplies Ludlow Line Casting |
Copyright 2009 - 2020 David Helbock All rights reserved. david@belltype.com 310-890-2164 |
LUDLOW Hot Metal Typesetting Library of Ludlow Typefaces Page 5 Suitable for use in Letterpress Printing and Hot Foil Stamping |
Key to the Ludlow Type Pages In designing these type pages, you'll find a complete alphabet showing, usually in 24 point size (size shown in bold under alphabet) so that all the characters of the alphabet are illustrated, which is particularly important when lettering and fitting type in a specific style for a specific purpose. In addition to the complete alphabets shown, the other sizes that are available in the particular face are listed just under the alphabet showing |
............................................................................Indicates Available Sizes |
The First Rule in Type - Make It Legible The artist or designer is concerned with the message the type conveys, and this is most readily achieved if your type setup stresses legibility and readability and is best suited for the job at hand Your type also should be appropriate, which means that it should show a fitness for the job it is to do. Remembering that formal dress may be appropriate at a ball, yet be ridiculously conspicuous at a picnic on the beach. Put Type to the Test: Is it easy to read? Does it show fitness for the purpose for which it is being used? Is it dynamic? If you keep your eye firmly on that goal of legibility and readability you'll use grotesque and bizarre type faces sparingly because you'll recognize that these type faces cut down readability. Like the seasoning in cooking, they serve their best purpose when used with the light touch. At the same time, keeping your type readable will keep you from mixing too many different type faces or sprinkling your job with combinations of light faces, bold faces, lower case, all caps and italics, for this merely gives you a hodgepodge that distracts attention from your work Another threat to elegance and legibility in type setting is the mistaken notion that if an 18 point type face produced a well balanced look then a 36 point type ought to be twice as impressive and a 72 point ought to bring an avalanche of parse. This craving for heroic size type defeats its own purpose when you consider that a line of 24 point or 30 point type well balanced with the surrounding space (white space) on the product is large enough to look elegant and get any reader's attention. |