At 9:11 -0800 02/02/11, John Hudson wrote: >Salut M. Jourdan, > >Sharon Irving at the ATypI secretariat forwarded to me your letter >regarding typographic measurement, about which I have a few points >to make (excuse the pun).
Thanks for your message, M. Hudson. >I am not at all familiar with 'Q', and would like to know where you >heard about this. On the Internet (I am not a specialist in typographic matters !). See for example http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/metric-typo.html and note the reference to the German standard DIN 16507-2. >(music, by the way, should be included in your exceptions to SI, >with the added note that the metric system is inherently unmusical).* Here you surprise me ! How a measurement system could be musical ? >One of the most common calculations in determining the harmonious >relationship of text block to page n traditional typography is >division by 3 or by multiples of 3. I appreciate, but is that a golden rule ? >It is worth remembering that international standard paper sizes (A4, >etc) while useful to the paper manufacturing industry are not based >on any harmonious system of proportion. The standard paper sizes (A series) are not, strictly speaking, based on the metric system, but on a ratio height/width = square root of 2 : this allows a magnification or reduction of a text, image, etc. with the same occupation of the relative area of the sheet. Now it is true that the A0 size has been determined by the ISO 216 standard with a surface of 1 square meter. See for example http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html >PS. I think you overstate the use of the metric system in some parts >of the world. I am well aware of that. It is indeed the matter of a book I have just written. I have to confess that I don't see much justification to that resistance... Regards Louis Jourdan -- Louis JOURDAN 12 rue Francois Menez F - 35700 RENNES Tel/fax +33 (0)2 9927 2588 port. 06 8168 8605 http://perso.wanadoo.fr/louis.jourdan/
