EXAMPLE 424-ASection of text matter from the “Saturday Evening Postâ€(Monotype No. 20-A, 8-point on 9-point body, 8¾ set)
EXAMPLE 424-ASection of text matter from the “Saturday Evening Postâ€(Monotype No. 20-A, 8-point on 9-point body, 8¾ set)
EXAMPLE 424-ASection of text matter from the “Saturday Evening Postâ€(Monotype No. 20-A, 8-point on 9-point body, 8¾ set)
It is a great mistake to set, as some business publications do, six-point type in lines twenty-five or thirty picas wide. To require the reader’s eyes, after being focused on such small type, to travel back and forth that distance is almost an invitation not to read the matter.
The Margins.—Blank space surrounding the printed pages in periodicals should be apportioned as it is in good books—the smallest margin at the binding side and increasing in amount in this order: Head, outer side, foot. Even when the total amount of margin is small it should be apportioned in this manner.
The rule can be stated in another way: the largest margin at the foot, with the type page inclining toward the bound side.
Periodical binderies do not always give the publisher good margins, even after he has planned for them. Unevenly cut paper, careless folding and inaccurate trimming will prevent the securing of desired results.
In measuring margins the running headings should be ignored if they are small, but in any event the printed page should have the appearance of being a trifle high on the leaf.
Type-Faces for the Text.—Type-faces for the text matter of most periodicals must be chosen for reasons different from those governing the selection of type-faces for other purposes, because of the small size, usually eight-point or nine-point.
EXAMPLE 422-ASection of text matter from the “Independentâ€(Monotype No. 20-A, 9-point on 10-point body, 9¾ set)
EXAMPLE 422-ASection of text matter from the “Independentâ€(Monotype No. 20-A, 9-point on 10-point body, 9¾ set)
EXAMPLE 422-ASection of text matter from the “Independentâ€(Monotype No. 20-A, 9-point on 10-point body, 9¾ set)
Type-faces that are legible and good-looking in twelve-point may prove illegible and ill-looking in eight-point. This is to some extent true of Caslon Oldstyle when printed on calendered surfaces. Such illegibility may be due to the hairlines, which almost disappear in the small sizes.
Commendable letters for periodicals that require small type-faces are the dark-printing kind represented by Century Expanded. Examples422and424are set in letters of this kind. (See also Examples422-Aand424-Afor type matter as actually used.)
As these types have short descenders the text matter is made more legible by separating lines with one-point leads or, in machine composition, by casting a face on a body a point larger (as in Example424-A, which shows an eight-point face cast on a nine-point body, and in Example422-A, which shows nine-point on ten-point body).
French Oldstyle (especially Cadmus) is not only fairly legible in small sizes but good-looking. A representative of this style of type will be found in Examples410and411, and is shown actual size in Example410-A.
Modern or old-style type-faces that are legible when printed on news paper or antique paper are sometimes not so when printed on calendered surfaces. A type-face such as Caslon Oldstyle was designed for printing on dampened paper of an unfinished surface, and it is no wonder that it does not appear at its best in small sizes on calendered paper.
EXAMPLE 417Box headings are conspicuous on this editorial page
EXAMPLE 417Box headings are conspicuous on this editorial page
EXAMPLE 417Box headings are conspicuous on this editorial page
EXAMPLE 419Excellent typography of an editorial page
EXAMPLE 419Excellent typography of an editorial page
EXAMPLE 419Excellent typography of an editorial page
EXAMPLE 418Another way to feature the editorials
EXAMPLE 418Another way to feature the editorials
EXAMPLE 418Another way to feature the editorials
EXAMPLE 420Novel use of rules on an editorial page. By Sherbow
EXAMPLE 420Novel use of rules on an editorial page. By Sherbow
EXAMPLE 420Novel use of rules on an editorial page. By Sherbow
EXAMPLE 421News photograph on the front page
EXAMPLE 421News photograph on the front page
EXAMPLE 421News photograph on the front page
It is absolutely necessary that the text matter of a periodical be easily read, yet the type-face should not be selected for that reason alone. It should be well formed and pleasing to look at, and, if possible, be a face that makes feasible some harmony in design between text type and head letter.
In publications that have text matter in eleven-point or twelve-point a letter such as Caslon Oldstyle would doubtless be satisfactory, and on small publications Old-Style Antique or Cushing Oldstyle render excellent service.
Scotch Roman, notwithstanding the fact that it contains hairlines, gives fairly good results, provided the paper is not highly calendered.
Letters with hairlines when printed on calendered paper lack the little legibility that they otherwise possess. Many letters could be made more legible, especially those composed on machines, by cutting the matrices so that the print of the thin lines is a trifle stronger.
The chapter on “Type-Faces†should be read in this connection.
Type-Faces for the Headings.—An ideal condition in periodical make-up is one which makes possible the use for headings of the identical design of type that has been selected for the text matter, as in Examples410and411, where a French Oldstyle has been used, and in Example415, where Scotch Roman is the type-face.
It is not possible always to use the very same design of type-face for both headings and text matter. After a text letter has been chosen for legibility or other reason, the identical type in larger sizes may prove to be too plain for the sort of periodical on which it is to appear. And there are sometimes special reasons, regrettable but unavoidable, an instance of which is this volume, wherein the text matter is in Scotch Roman (a modern letter with some relation to old-style) and the headings and captions in a type-face of old-style form. This combination is not ideal, and the explanation follows. In order that “The Art and Practice of Typography†could be published at a price that would enable it to be widely circulated, the chapters, as soon as each was prepared, were first printed inThe American Printer. The type-face used for the text matter and headings in that publication was Scotch Roman, hence it was felt necessary to use Scotch Roman for the text of this volume. However, it was believed that a darker type-face of old-style formation would be more pleasing for the headings, and a Goudy letter was selected.
EXAMPLE 422Fine specimen of typographic make-up
EXAMPLE 422Fine specimen of typographic make-up
EXAMPLE 422Fine specimen of typographic make-up
A modern type-face (Bodoni Bold) appears on the headings in Example412,413and414. Bodoni (not the bold) is also used for headings in Examples416and427.
Caslon Oldstyle is to be found used for both headings and text in Examples426and430. Old-Style Antique appears in Example431.
TheSaturday Evening Postfor many years made use of an old-style letter for its headings that as a type-face was known as Post Oldstyle. The italic, outlined and filled in with gray-printing lines, is shown in Example424.
A Gothic decorative letter is not out of place on a Christmas number ofCollier’s(Example425), but is not recommended for general use on periodical pages.
Large, bold, black type-faces for headings in periodicals should be avoided.
Interest can be added, in the treatment of departmentheadings of technical publications, by using slightly decorative panels, but such decoration should be light or slight, and not the commonplace sort sometimes found in ill-treated job work.
EXAMPLE 423An attractive first text page. By Lester Douglas
EXAMPLE 423An attractive first text page. By Lester Douglas
EXAMPLE 423An attractive first text page. By Lester Douglas
Editorial and title headings in typographic treatment should blend with other parts of the text pages and not look, as some do, like quarter-page advertisements inserted in reading matter. Example429shows good treatment.
Make-up of the Illustrations.—When planning to use illustrations on periodicals both facing pages should be before the person doing the planning. The text matter of the two pages forms a background of gray, and the problem is to place illustrations, headings and initials in positions that will not only be well balanced but so assembled that one will not interfere with another.
Usually there should be some text matter between illustrations; they should be placed toward the outer side of the page (see Example422). The center position is practicable when there are three columns and the illustration is but a single column in width, or when the expense of running around may be incurred (see Example424).
Illustrations frequently look better separated from the heading, as in Example414, than when joined with the heading, as in Example412.
The same style of illustration should, if possible, be used on facing pages. Make-up that shows a line plate on one page and a halftone on the adjoining page is inharmonious and not so pleasing as when all illustrations on facing pages are of the same character. They should be, say, either line like that in Example414or halftone like that in Example412.
EXAMPLE 424Illustration placed in center, necessitating running around
EXAMPLE 424Illustration placed in center, necessitating running around
EXAMPLE 424Illustration placed in center, necessitating running around
EXAMPLE 425Feature page of a Christmas number
EXAMPLE 425Feature page of a Christmas number
EXAMPLE 425Feature page of a Christmas number
When an illustration appears on a text page, initial lettersshould be plain and small, as in Example414; but when no illustration appears the initial can be large, as in Example411, or even decorative. For regular purposes initials as used on Examples409and425are inadvisable.
EXAMPLE 426Convention feature page of a technical journal
EXAMPLE 426Convention feature page of a technical journal
EXAMPLE 426Convention feature page of a technical journal
Pleasing use of a vignette style of illustration is to be seen in Example430. It lends interest to the first text page and at the same time illustrates the leading article.
The illustration in Example429is also effectively placed.
Arrangement of Headings.—Headings, in a way, advertise or “sell†the contents of a periodical, and their arrangement depends on how far the editor or layout man wishes to go in advertising or “selling†the contents. The American people have so much reading matter available that it is probably necessary in most instances almost to force them to read the various articles in periodicals. Encyclopedias are read even if there are no display headings and the type is in six-point, and there are periodicals that are read without urging; but it may as well be conceded that articles are read more when they are well advertised.
A well-advertised story will be found in Example413. The title is brought out prominently in a large, bold type, as is the name of the author. The italic line above the title smacks of real advertising, as does the group of type inserted in the upper part of the text. The display in Example412is frankly advertising in its appearance.
TheSaturday Evening Postheading (Example424) is large, but there is no descriptive advertising, and there is little of the nervous fear of going unread so evident in Examples412and413.
Calm, yet pleasing, treatment of headings is to be found in Examples411and423. It is well to give attention to the presentation of article headings, but sometimes in the place where the heading should go there is so much noise and so much talking that, as a means of resting the nerves, the leaf is quickly turned or the periodical laid aside.
EXAMPLE 427News headings and make-up
EXAMPLE 427News headings and make-up
EXAMPLE 427News headings and make-up
Periodical titles, as they appear on the first text page of each issue, are variously treated. The small, neat effect of Example423is commendable. It is in Scotch Roman and harmonizes with the article heading and text type. Title headings on a larger scale will be found in Examples410,415and416. Special lettering is sometimes pleasing, as in Examples421and430.
The news department of trade and business periodicals requires numerous headings. Example427is suggestive. There the news articles are in narrow columns and have a newspaper style of heading.
Caslon Oldstyle looks well on any class of publication. Roman capitals and lower-case and italic may be used in the same line, as on Example429.
The Captions.—It is customary to set captions centered under illustrations in a size smaller of the type-face used for the text matter and to arrange the caption in one or more lines no wider than the illustration.
When the caption is in two parts the first part is usually set in capitals and the second part in lower-case, both centered. The lower-case is sometimes roman and sometimes italic.
Seldom do captions receive the special decorative treatment that has been accorded them in Examples412and414. Even two-line initial letters have been used with them.
The plain double caption in roman capitals and lower-case is to be found in Examples421and422. A single captionin italic lower-case is shown inside a rule that surrounds the illustration in Example424.
EXAMPLE 428A conservative and readable editorial page
EXAMPLE 428A conservative and readable editorial page
EXAMPLE 428A conservative and readable editorial page
Arrangement of captions in lines of the same length, making a block of type (as in this book) is liked by many. However, the caption is to be read and its shape is not of more importance than its legibility. It is a mistake to arrange a caption in several lines of capitals and then letterspace some of the words to obtain the block effect. Such letterspacing advertises the effort as unsuccessful and also disfigures the page.
The Editorial Pages.—In periodicals, editorial pages are treated variously. There is no standard style such as is found in most newspapers. All five editorial pages reproduced here, in make-up and typographic treatment, differ from one another.
TheLadies’ Home Journal(Example417) has the title of each editorial in a small rule panel along with the publication’s trademark, and the matter is set in two wide columns. The first clause beginning each editorial is composed in capitals and small capitals. The page is surrounded by a double-line border.
Collier’s(Example418) begins each editorial with an initial letter, followed by several words in capitals, and the title in a dark-faced italic is set at the left end of the line. A decorative symbolic heading is placed above all.
System(Example419) has a neat, readable editorial page, arranged in an interesting manner. The name of the magazine, of the editor, and the month and volume are neatly placed at the top, and the blank space that follows, occupied solely by the small black decorative mark, gives pleasure. Each editorial is introduced by a heading in small capitals and by an initial, which is larger in the first article. The editorial page ofAdvertising and Selling(Example420), by Sherbow, is unlike any of the others. Rules are used between columns, on both sides of headings, and above and below the page heading. The result is pleasing, and invites reading of the page.
EXAMPLE 429Caslon headings and an old-style text type
EXAMPLE 429Caslon headings and an old-style text type
EXAMPLE 429Caslon headings and an old-style text type
The style of make-up ofThe American Printereditorial page (Example428) was purposely patterned after that of the conventional newspaper editorial page. The editorials of conservative metropolitan newspapers are probably read more regularly than any other part of the publications, and such reading has possibly been invited by the restful style of the typography. There is reason to believe that this somewhat old-fashioned treatment and its lack of affectation have really accomplished what was intended.
The editorial page should be unlike the other pages of a periodical, and these examples should assist printers and editors in determining suitable typographic treatment.
Features.—Typography can have much to do with the playing up of features in periodical make-up. An instance is the page reproduced as Example426, which consists of what would ordinarily be the notes of the convention. In this instance the notes were written in a style that suggests the quaint diction of Colonial days. Some of the words of the text were capitalized, as was done in those times. In the page heading a few of the letters were tilted to give an irregularity caused in old composition by defective typefounding. Even the brass rules were nicked (brass rule was seldom in good condition in the old days). A crude initial of ancient vintage and an illustration simulating an old woodcut added decorative interest. This page was a change from the routine style of the other pages.
The page fromCollier’s(Example409, Insert) wasone of the features of a Thanksgiving number. Its decorative border suggests the treatment found in Books of Common Prayer (see page27).
EXAMPLE 430Caslon typography on a magazine. By Will Bradley
EXAMPLE 430Caslon typography on a magazine. By Will Bradley
EXAMPLE 430Caslon typography on a magazine. By Will Bradley
Christmas feature treatment is also found in Example425, also by Will Bradley. The text letter used in this example for initials and headings is hardly suitable for use generally in periodicals, but for occasional features it is not out of place.
Verse when used will usually look more interesting set in italic, especially when the italic has a decorative quality. One of the important general magazines sets verse in Kennerley italic in a decorative panel broken into the text page at a suitable point.
Important parts of an article reprinted in an attractive panel on the same page would call attention to the article and invite reading.
A certain amount of restraint is necessary when planning typographic features for periodicals. Type-faces should be selected with knowledge and care, and seldom should large sizes be used. “Jobby†display effects are never in order on the text pages of periodicals.
The Advertisements.—The typographic details of the editorial section of a national periodical in the field of advertising were recently revised and made more pleasing, yet when made up and printed the work that had been done was so overshadowed and counteracted by the bold types on the advertising pages that the general result was disappointing.
It is useless to attempt good typography on periodicals so long as advertisements are inserted in text pages or occupy facing positions; that is, it is useless unless the periodicals set or reset the advertisements neatly in good taste as is done by the Curtis publications.
Advertisements should not be mingled with text matter. According to old-fashioned ideas, the reader buys a periodical for the text matter, and it is for him to determine whether or not he shall read the advertising pages. In some publications the text pages are yet to be found intact, altho preceded and followed by sold space; in others good resolves peter out as text meets advertisement toward the rear, and in others—a majority perhaps—advertisements dominate almost all of the text pages.
Treatment of advertisements in periodicals need not necessarily be shy and timid; neither need it be blustering and noisy. Where advertisements are neatly treated and not unduly forced on the attention, readers are likely to give as much time to their perusal as to the text pages. A gentlemanly solicitor who talks clearly in low tones is more likely to sell goods than one who disturbs the entire office by his loud talk and boisterous demeanor. Apply this to the typography of the advertising pages.
Editorially, it is to be regretted that advertising must go “alongside of reading,†but it is to be deplored that in so many periodicals, especially of the business and technical class, reading matter is seemingly written and placed for the purpose of accommodating the advertising.
The successful publication of a periodical, as of a newspaper, depends on liberal patronage from advertisers; yet these advertisers are best served when the publication is planned with first consideration for the text features, and the advertisements are prepared to harmonize and not clash with the typography of the text matter.
EXAMPLE 431Good typography of a pocket magazine
EXAMPLE 431Good typography of a pocket magazine
EXAMPLE 431Good typography of a pocket magazine
EXAMPLE 432.—A house-organ by Taylor, Nash & Taylor, San Francisco, that features typography
EXAMPLE 432.—A house-organ by Taylor, Nash & Taylor, San Francisco, that features typography
EXAMPLE 432.—A house-organ by Taylor, Nash & Taylor, San Francisco, that features typography
HOUSE-ORGANS
The house-organ is the little brother of the periodical and newspaper. It is published most frequently as a means of communication between a business house and buyers of that house’s product. Sometimes the publication is circulated only among the house salesmen or other employees.
Examination of more than one hundred house-organs revealed a condition that prevails in every department of publishing—lack of standardization in dimensions. The smallest house-organ measured about 3 × 5 inches and the largest 9 × 12 inches. The dimensions grew, from the smallest to the largest, by quarter inches and half inches. There are many small pocket house-organs, some of which fit commercial envelops and others fit baronial envelops. If there is a favorite size for house-organs, it is 6 × 9, which dimensions are those of Examples432,436,437,441,447and448, illustrated in this chapter. Another favorite size is 7 × 10 inches, which are the dimensions of Examples444and449. House-organs planned in the style of newspapers and containing four or eight pages are usually 8 × 11 or 9 × 12 inches in size.
A different stock is frequently used for the covers of house-organs, but equally popular is the self-cover style—the first page of an eight- or sixteen-page form containing the cover design. The practices that govern the use of cover designs on periodicals apply to some extent to house-organs, although typographic covers are more often found on the last-mentioned kind of publication.
Example441shows a typographic cover in which most of the page is given over to a table of contents—not a bad idea when the contents are abundant.
Should a house-organ consist of only two or four leaves, it is unnecessary to give over the entire first page to a cover design, as the title could be treated as in Examples436,438,439,448and452. If the cover page is to be lettered, it is well to have it treated in a style that will harmonize with the typography of the inner pages. See Example435.
Seldom is there any reason for a house-organ to contain more than four or eight pages. Few of the more ambitious house-organs survive the first one or two issues, or are profitable if they do. A house-organ to be effective should be published regularly. Too many instead of being periodicals are “spasmodicals.†There is more likelihood of a house-organ being published regularly if it be modest in plan and brief in contents. Printers err when they suggest elaborate and bulky house-organs to their customers. The smaller kind, neat and stylish in typography, attractive in make-up, good to look at and easy to read, are more desirable under average conditions.
EXAMPLE 433
EXAMPLE 433
EXAMPLE 433
EXAMPLE 434
EXAMPLE 434
EXAMPLE 434
EXAMPLE 435Pages from a quaintly-treated house-organ, by the Seaver Howland Press, Boston. Both type and illustration suggest the “good old daysâ€
EXAMPLE 435Pages from a quaintly-treated house-organ, by the Seaver Howland Press, Boston. Both type and illustration suggest the “good old daysâ€
EXAMPLE 435Pages from a quaintly-treated house-organ, by the Seaver Howland Press, Boston. Both type and illustration suggest the “good old daysâ€
EXAMPLE 436Distinctive lettering and typography
EXAMPLE 436Distinctive lettering and typography
EXAMPLE 436Distinctive lettering and typography
EXAMPLE 437Interpolated paragraphs in italic
EXAMPLE 437Interpolated paragraphs in italic
EXAMPLE 437Interpolated paragraphs in italic
EXAMPLE 438A house-organ in miniature
EXAMPLE 438A house-organ in miniature
EXAMPLE 438A house-organ in miniature
EXAMPLE 439Planned after the printer’s house-organ at the left
EXAMPLE 439Planned after the printer’s house-organ at the left
EXAMPLE 439Planned after the printer’s house-organ at the left
The titles of house-organs are not usually as conventionaland dignified as those of magazines and other periodicals, although those who have a liking for the conventional select the word “Bulletin,†adding to it as part of the title a word which connects it with the business. Hence we have the “Linotype Bulletin,†the “Hampshire Service Bulletin†(Example436) and the “Ad.-League Bulletin†(Example440). Printers, for their house-organs, use a variety of titles that include “Typographica,†“Imprint†(Examples432,442,445,446,450and451), “The Typographer†(Example438), “Pica†(Example448), “Type Talks†(Example452), “Warde’s Words†(Example447). In other lines are to be found “Drug Topics,†“Statler Salesmanship,†“The Constructive Banker,†“The Wallace†(Example444), “Poor Richard’s New Almanack,†“Selling Sense†and “The Ambassador†(Example455).
EXAMPLE 440Attractive rule treatment of headings
EXAMPLE 440Attractive rule treatment of headings
EXAMPLE 440Attractive rule treatment of headings
EXAMPLE 442Simple, effective typography
EXAMPLE 442Simple, effective typography
EXAMPLE 442Simple, effective typography
The number of columns that should be used in house-organs depends, of course, on the size of the page. One column is sufficient for the small pocket publication (Examples433,434,435,445,446,453,458and459). The page should be made up in two columns when the size is about 6 × 9 (Examples438,439,440,444,448,449,450and451). The purpose of more than one column is to make reading easier and not just to provide a narrow column. On some house-organs the columns are made so narrow that it is as difficult to read them as when they are very wide.
EXAMPLE 441Contents outlined on the cover
EXAMPLE 441Contents outlined on the cover
EXAMPLE 441Contents outlined on the cover
The margins on the house-organs should be of the same proportions as on periodicals and booklets—the most margin at the foot, with the type-page inclining toward the head and binding side. In fact, such margins should be found on all printing in which there are two facing pages.
The type-faces used on house-organs should be legible and at the same time good-looking. Caslon Oldstyle is suitable for house-organs as well as most other purposes. The Caslon style of type is used on Examples433,434,436,440,441,448,450,451,453, and455. Other faces used on the house-organs here reproduced are Kennerley Oldstyle (Examples432,445,446), Old-Style Antique (Examples442and447), Cloister Oldstyle (Example452), Bodoni Book (Examples457and458). These and other good faces are available for house-organ purposes.
EXAMPLE 443Dark-toned typography by Griffith-Stillings Press, Boston
EXAMPLE 443Dark-toned typography by Griffith-Stillings Press, Boston
EXAMPLE 443Dark-toned typography by Griffith-Stillings Press, Boston
EXAMPLE 445
EXAMPLE 445
EXAMPLE 445
EXAMPLE 446Rubricated typography by Taylor & Taylor, San Francisco
EXAMPLE 446Rubricated typography by Taylor & Taylor, San Francisco
EXAMPLE 446Rubricated typography by Taylor & Taylor, San Francisco
EXAMPLE 444Suitable treatment for this silverware publication
EXAMPLE 444Suitable treatment for this silverware publication
EXAMPLE 444Suitable treatment for this silverware publication
What has been said in the chapter on “Periodicals†about the suitability of type for headings applies as well to house-organs. In most of the pages here reproduced it will be seen that the head letter is the same kind of type as the text letter or is harmoniously similar.
The treatment of display announcements or house advertising should be such as to carry out the purpose for which the house-organ is issued. If, as an instance, the publication is issued for the purpose of presenting the attractive wares of a stationery house, it would be well to devote half of the pages to illustrations, descriptions and prices of stationery supplies. Sometimes when the display announcements are as numerous as the text pages, an announcement is placed on the left page facing a text page at the right. When this is done, the typography should be neat in appearance; the type sizes should not be large, and the type itself not any blacker than, say, Caslon Oldstyle. Especially is it a mistake to use dark faces when illustrations of merchandise are a part of the page. Dark type-faces subordinate and render ineffective such illustrations.
A house-organ designed entirely—display announcements included—in the original Caslon Oldstyle by someone who knows how to get the best out of the type, would be ideal. The capitals, small capitals and lower-case of roman, and the capitals andlower-case of italic, can be manipulated so as to produce an abundance of typographic variety and interest.