D - Typography Terms

Typography Terms - D

Typography Terms - D

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All Terms A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

denotation

An analytical descripton of a specific font, its serifs, bracketing, terminals, weight of strokes, etc.

descender

The lowest portion of letters such as 'g,' 'j,' 'p.' 'q,' and 'y' that extends below the baseline, or reading line of type. (See descender line.) The portion of a lowercase letter that extends below the base line of the letter.

descender line

The lowest line that a character's descender extends to, like the bottom stem of the lowercase 'j' and 'y.' A line marking the lowest point of the descenders within a font.

descent

A font's maximum distance below the baseline.

diacritic

A mark like a circumflex, accent mark, cedilla, or umlaut, which is added to a letter to give it a special phonetic value, or to distinguish words which are otherwise graphically identical. Also called "accent."

dingbats

Once known as "printer's flowers," these are the small decorative marks, bullets, or symbols that usually make up a specialty face. Zapf Dingbats is one well-known example of a dingbat font.

discretionary hyphens

A hyphen inserted in a word indicating where PageMaker can divide the word, if necessary, to fit the text on the line.

display face

A larger and bolder version of a text face (14 points or more) which is used for headlines and sub-headlines.

downloadable font

A font file that contains character descriptions that are copied from the computer and temporarily stored in the printer s memory while a document is printing.

downloading

Transferring fonts from the computer to the printer's memory.

dpi

(Dots per inch) The measure of resolution for a video monitor or printer high-resolution printers are usually at least 1000 dpi. Laser printers typically have a resolution of 600 dpi; monitors are usually 72 dpi.

drop cap

An oversized capital letter used at the start of a paragraph. Drop caps occupy two or more lines of body copy, usually introduced for design emphasis.

All Terms A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

denotation	An analytical descripton of a specific font, its serifs, bracketing, terminals, weight of strokes, etc.
descender	The lowest portion of letters such as 'g,' 'j,' 'p.' 'q,' and 'y' that extends below the baseline, or reading line of type. (See descender line.) The portion of a lowercase letter that extends below the base line of the letter.
descender line	The lowest line that a character's descender extends to, like the bottom stem of the lowercase 'j' and 'y.' A line marking the lowest point of the descenders within a font.
descent	A font's maximum distance below the baseline.
diacritic	A mark like a circumflex, accent mark, cedilla, or umlaut, which is added to a letter to give it a special phonetic value, or to distinguish words which are otherwise graphically identical. Also called "accent."
dingbats	Once known as "printer's flowers," these are the small decorative marks, bullets, or symbols that usually make up a specialty face. Zapf Dingbats is one well-known example of a dingbat font.
discretionary hyphens	A hyphen inserted in a word indicating where PageMaker can divide the word, if necessary, to fit the text on the line.
display face	A larger and bolder version of a text face (14 points or more) which is used for headlines and sub-headlines.
downloadable font	A font file that contains character descriptions that are copied from the computer and temporarily stored in the printer s memory while a document is printing.
downloading	Transferring fonts from the computer to the printer's memory.
dpi	(Dots per inch) The measure of resolution for a video monitor or printer high-resolution printers are usually at least 1000 dpi. Laser printers typically have a resolution of 600 dpi; monitors are usually 72 dpi.
drop cap	An oversized capital letter used at the start of a paragraph. Drop caps occupy two or more lines of body copy, usually introduced for design emphasis.