laser-lovers@uw-beaver (05/29/85)
From: "Steven H. Gutfreund" <gutfreund%umass-cs.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa> It seems that the discussion of typefaces is mostly on Times Roman and variants. Could someone answer the following questions for me: 1. Are there any computer Granjon fonts? If not why? are the plainer Times Roman easier to implement? 2. What do people think of Granjon? (Which was actually not designed by Granjon but by Garamond as a memorial to Granjon) 3. Does the "prettyness" of this typeface detract from its readability? I remember reading human factors literature about how plain fonts with strong horizontal emphasis in the serif's increase readability? Does anyone have any general information on readability of fonts? A Knopf Flyleaf Reader, Steven Gutfreund
laser-lovers@uw-beaver (05/30/85)
From: Chuck Bigelow <CAB@SU-AI.ARPA>
The question of Granjon types brings out a pretty (complicated)
story, and some even prettier type faces. Here are the basics
according the various reference works:
1. The typeface called "Granjon".
The typeface Granjon was produced for hot-metal linecaster machinery
by the English Linotype company, then called Linotype & Machinery.
According to the Encyclopedia of Typefaces, Granjon was produced
c. 1928 - 193l, but according to Beatrice Warde's famous essay
on the Garamond types, Granjon was produced in 1924, which makes
better sense because a printed specimen was included in THE FLEURON
No. V, published in 1926. The specimen was printed by English master
printer George W. Jones at "The Sign of the Dolphin" press. Jones
was the typographic adviser to Linotype & Machinery, and the face was
produced under his supervision. (In accordance with current laser-lovers
practice, let me note that Jones was what we would call "a paid consultant"
to Linotype.) I do not know if Jones actually drew the face himself, or if a
Linotype staff artist did the final drawings. The roman design for Granjon
was based on the type in a book "Historia Ecclesiastica" by Bourchier,
printed J. Poupy in in 1582. That roman type was almost certainly cut
by the great Claude Garamont (as he called himself -- his contemporaries
also spelled the name "Garamond" -- for it bears a close resemblance to
faces attributed to Garamond in the Egenolff-Berner type specimen of 1592).
Garamond died in 1561; his roman designs were the most admired types of
the 16th century, though he never gained the financial rewards that
the aesthetic success of his types should have warrented. (Today, many
type pirates continue to rob designers of their just rewards, so perhaps
little has changed for the artist.)
A younger contemporary of Garamond was Robert Granjon (c. 1513 - 1589).
Although Granjon cut beautiful roman designs, they were in the Garamond
idiom, and his real flair was more often seen in his italic cuttings,
which he produced in rich variety of sizes and styles. The italic face
of the Linotype "Granjon" is based on a Granjon "pendante" style italic
which was Granjon's most popular version of italic. Although Granjon
was inventive and original in naming his typefaces ("Galliard", "Jolie",
etc.) he did not name any of them after Garamond, nor did Garamond name
any after Granjo (although the name "Garamond" is also used to denote
a particular size -- for example, the above-mentioned Egenolff-Berner
specimen shows a "Roman Garamond of Garamond" and a Cursive Garamond
or Immortel of Granjon -- which would approximate 10 point today).
The Linotype "Granjon" was presumably named that because the design
adviser and the firm were tired of all the various revivals of 16th
century designs that had already been called "Garamond", and wanted
to differentiate their newer (and truer) design from the previous and
competing designs, and therefore named the typeface family after the
original designer of its italic rather than its roman.
But there had earlier been a revival of a true Granjon type, the so-called
Gros Cicero, cut by Granjon c. 1570. "Cicero" also denotes a size
(approximately equal to today's 12 point or pica in English-speaking
countries or the "Cicero" in continental Europe), metonymically named
for the author of an early edition in which type of that size first appeared;
if that is not too confusing. In 1913 the Granjon Gros Cicero was revived
by F.H. Pierpont of the English Monotype Corporation, based on surviving
materials archived in the Plantin-Moretus museum, which was the former
shop and house of the great 16th century printer Christophe Plantin,
a patron of Granjon. Of course, Monotype did not name the new type "Granjon"
(probably too simple) but rather "Plantin", after the printer who used the
design. The Plantin design was in all probability the model which Stanley
Morison and Victor Lardent used to design Times New Roman in 1931.
Times Roman is not a simple type design. It is extremely sophisticated
in its proportions, contrast, and modeling. It is particularly difficult
to digitize at the medium-low resolutions of laser printers (pace all
who are inspired to claim that their 300 lpi Times looks good -- the
difficulty of digitization is not a barrier to doing an acceptable job
within the limitations of the resolution) and invariably looks more like
its original hot-metal self at digital resolutions of 1000 lpi or higher.
Most laser-printer versions of Times also look a good deal like Plantin,
which is a sturdier, coarser precursor to the sharp, fine, glittery Times.
The difficulty of doing an acceptable job at digitizing Times, and the
sense of regret at seeing a result always inferior to the original, is what
inspired me and Kris Holmes to design a totally new series of types for
laser printers -- types based simply on principles of letterform design rather
than on imitations of faces produced for utterly different and obsolescent
technology.
The Linotype Granjon faces are available as high-resolution digital types
on Linotype digital typesetters, such as the Linotron 202. I know of no
versions for laser printers. The designs are light in weight, delicately
sculpted, and seem rather fragile for the rigors of 300 lpi laser printing.
A recent version of Granjon's types is the "Galliard" family designed by
Matthew Carter for the American Mergenthaler Linotype and released in
1978. This roman is also said to be based on Granjon's Gros Cicero, but
is perhaps more an "anthology" than a museum piece (to quote its designer).
The italic is based on Granjon's Ascendonica italic for which material
yet survives in the Plantin-Moretus museum. I have written more extensively
about this face in FINE PRINT, January 1979, but that review is about to
be superseded by the designer's own account, beautifully written and
richly illustrated, "Galliard: a modern revival of the types of
Robert Granjon" in the forthcoming special issue of VISIBLE LANGUAGE
on "The Computer and the Hand in Type Design", already announced to
this list.
Ironically, Times Roman and Helvetica, because of their great popularity
in the graphic arts typesetting industry, are among the first types produced
by firms new to the printing and typographic industry. As a result, these
novice firms, usually ignorant of standards of typographic excellence, usually
botch up their first attempts at these faces. As such firms gain experience,
they usually come to realize (from customer complaints) what a mess they
made of their fledgling efforts in type development, and then face the
embarrassing question of whether to admit that the first versions were a
botch and bring out new, improved versions (and if so, under what names:
Times Newer Roman? Times Newest Roman? Helvetica Numero Duo? ) or
whether to stonewall with the original turkeys and expiate their sins by
doing a better job on some newer faces. [This observation is not unique
to me, but has been made by others, including one illustrious designer
who, since I haven't asked for permission to quote, shall remain
anonymous here.]
As for the question of what makes typefaces legible, I must postpone
an atempt at an answer until another time.
--Chuck Bigelow