Typesetting

"Text formatting" redirects here. For other uses, see Formatted text.
"Booksetting" redirects here. For a multi-volume work, see Bookset.
For broader coverage of this topic, see Typography.
Movable type on a composing stick on a type case
A specimen sheet issued by William Caslon, letter founder, from the 1728 edition of Cyclopaedia
Diagram of a cast metal sort

Typesetting is the composition of text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging physical type (or sort) in mechanical systems or glyphs in digital systems representing characters (letters and other symbols).[1] Stored types are retrieved and ordered according to a language's orthography for visual display. Typesetting requires one or more fonts (which are widely but erroneously confused with and substituted for typefaces). One significant effect of typesetting was that authorship of works could be spotted more easily, making it difficult for copiers who have not gained permission.[2]

  1. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 23 December 2009. Dictionary.reference.com
  2. ^ Murray, Stuart A., The Library: An Illustrated History, ALA edition, Skyhorse, 2009, page 131