Imprint (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Imprint is a typeface commissioned from Monotype
by the London publishers of The Imprint
, a printing trade periodical from 1913, and which has been digitized for sale today as an OpenType
font. It is notable in being the first typeface designed expressly for mechanical composition.
The typeface, originally called Imprint Old Face, is a sturdy design, Caslon-like but with more regularity in its letterforms and a large x-height.
(1989), 22,000 pages of precisely structured typography in 20 volumes.
font from Monotype's successor, Monotype Imaging.
Monotype Corporation
Monotype Imaging Holdings is a Delaware corporation based in Woburn, Massachusetts and specializing in typesetting and typeface design as well as text and imaging solutions for use with consumer electronics devices. Monotype Imaging Holdings is the owner of Monotype Imaging Inc., Linotype,...
by the London publishers of The Imprint
The Imprint (printing trade periodical)
The Imprint was a periodical aimed at the printing trade, published in 9 issues from January to November 1913. The publishers were the Imprint Publishing Company, of 11 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London. Editors were F. Ernest Jackson, Edward Johnston, J. H...
, a printing trade periodical from 1913, and which has been digitized for sale today as an OpenType
OpenType
OpenType is a format for scalable computer fonts. It was built on its predecessor TrueType, retaining TrueType's basic structure and adding many intricate data structures for prescribing typographic behavior...
font. It is notable in being the first typeface designed expressly for mechanical composition.
The typeface, originally called Imprint Old Face, is a sturdy design, Caslon-like but with more regularity in its letterforms and a large x-height.
Usage in The Imprint magazine
It was produced for the magazine (on a non-exclusive basis) in 1912 by the Monotype Company as Series 101 for automatic composition on the Monotype caster. When delivered to the journal's printers on December 31, 1912, it was still incomplete—the accents had not yet been made—so the editors asked in the first issue: “Will readers kindly insert them for themselves, if they find their omission harsh? For ourselves, we rather like the fine careless flavour, which their omission gives, after we have recovered from the first shock inevitable to us typographical precisians”.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition
Perhaps the most notable use since then has been for the entire setting of the Second Edition of the Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(1989), 22,000 pages of precisely structured typography in 20 volumes.
Digital versions
It is available today as a digital OpenTypeOpenType
OpenType is a format for scalable computer fonts. It was built on its predecessor TrueType, retaining TrueType's basic structure and adding many intricate data structures for prescribing typographic behavior...
font from Monotype's successor, Monotype Imaging.