Dear Han,
on 2002/03/19 07.43, Han Maenen at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Copied from the USMA site
>
> Metric Typographic Units
<snip>
> *Absolutely everything is measured and specified in millimeters.*
> No more points, picas, ciceros, inches, etc. and all their awful conversion
> factors.
> Dimensions are multiples of 0.25 mm, or where a finer resolution is required
> multiples of 0.1 or 0.05 mm.
> There is nothing wrong in principle with continued use of font specific
> units such as the em, as these are not absolute length measurements.
>
> Japanese typesetters use the unit Q (quarter) for font sizes, where 1 Q =
> 0.25 mm, i.e. the same modulus recommended by DIN 16507-2.
>
> This measure coincides nicely with the most common pixel size on computer
> monitors. For example a typical 43-cm CRT screen has a display area of
> 320¥240
> mm, divided into 1280¥1024 pixels, which makes each pixel 0.25 mm large.
>
> Would this system be more acceptable if the name Q was not used at all, just
> the resolutions mentioned above?
Yes. I think that this would be much better. Although I think that the
printing trade will eventually use micrometres for measuring all of their
really small dimensions, at least the German intervals are a step in that
direction.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
CAMS - Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist
- United States Metric Association
ASM - Accredited Speaking Member
- National Speakers Association of Australia
Member, International Federation for Professional Speakers
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