Typography Glossary

Ragged right Left-justified text that is flush with the left margin and ragged at the right margin. Unused space in each line is at its right.

Random-access display A display device that draws the image in any specified order. Calligraphic displays are random access. Raster devices are not.

Raster device A device that produces an image by scanning it as a series of lines.

Rasterize Rasterize

Readability The speed at which continuous text can be read. Also Legibility.

Reading for comprehension Continuous reading, as of a block of text in a book.

Real-time formatting Presentation of an electronic document in (nearly) printed form while it is being edited.

Reconstruction error Reconstruction error

Recto page Right-hand page in an opening. Has an odd page number.

Reference mark A symbol used to refer the reader to a footnote or other information outside of the immediate context of the mark.

Reflection Light impinging upon a scene that returns back from the scene. Reflections from display screens reduce image quality by reducing contrast. Light reflected from paper (but not the ink) increases image contrast.

Refresh To redisplay information on a display device. CRT displays, for example, refresh the image many times per second to achieve the appearance of constancy.

Relief printing A printing process in which a raised surface accepts ink, which is then transferred to paper by direct contact.

Replicating pixels A method of enlarging an image by mapping each original pixel onto more than one pixel in the enlarged image. Simple transformations like this result in poor-quality enlarged images.

Resolution The fineness of position and detail produced by an output device or sampled by an input device.

Retina The photosensitive part of the eye, upon which the lens images the scene being viewed. river. A perceived white rift in a block of type that results from the alignment of interword spaces from line to line. Proper layout and typesetting minimise or eliminate rivers.

Rods Rods

Roman The classical style of type that is upright, as opposed to oblique, is of normal weight as opposed to light or bold, and has graduated thick and thin strokes as opposed to being cursive.

Rule A thin line, either vertical or horizontal, often used to separate parts of a table or columns of text.

Run-length encoding A datacompression technique that represents sequences of values by counts of sequential items of the same value, instead of representing the values individually.

Running head Text such as the title, chapter, or section headings that is repeated on the tops of pages of a book.

Runoff A number of document-formatting programs of related ancestry that operate in batch mode and use a highly extensional set of formatting commands. Macros within Runoff allow more intentional formatting.

INDEX
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF TYPE
TYPE CLASSIFICATION
THE FONT POOL
PAGE LAYOUT GUIDE
LOGO TYPE GUIDE
MIXING TYPE
TYPOGRAPHY SOFTWARE
TYPE CHOICE

Sources:

Rubinststein, Richard. [1988] Digial Typography: An Introduction to Type and Composition for Computer System Design. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Blue Dot's typoGRAPHIC.
The comp.fonts FAQ.

There have been .
© Kevin Woodward 1997.

	Ragged right	Left-justified text that is flush with the left margin and ragged at the right margin. Unused space in each line is at its right.
	Random-access display	A display device that draws the image in any specified order. Calligraphic displays are random access. Raster devices are not.
	Raster device	A device that produces an image by scanning it as a series of lines.
	Rasterize	Rasterize
	Readability	The speed at which continuous text can be read. Also Legibility.
	Reading for comprehension	Continuous reading, as of a block of text in a book.
	Real-time formatting	Presentation of an electronic document in (nearly) printed form while it is being edited.
	Reconstruction error	Reconstruction error
	Recto page	Right-hand page in an opening. Has an odd page number.
	Reference mark	A symbol used to refer the reader to a footnote or other information outside of the immediate context of the mark.
	Reflection	Light impinging upon a scene that returns back from the scene. Reflections from display screens reduce image quality by reducing contrast. Light reflected from paper (but not the ink) increases image contrast.
	Refresh	To redisplay information on a display device. CRT displays, for example, refresh the image many times per second to achieve the appearance of constancy.
	Relief printing	A printing process in which a raised surface accepts ink, which is then transferred to paper by direct contact.
	Replicating pixels	A method of enlarging an image by mapping each original pixel onto more than one pixel in the enlarged image. Simple transformations like this result in poor-quality enlarged images.
	Resolution	The fineness of position and detail produced by an output device or sampled by an input device.
	Retina	The photosensitive part of the eye, upon which the lens images the scene being viewed. river. A perceived white rift in a block of type that results from the alignment of interword spaces from line to line. Proper layout and typesetting minimise or eliminate rivers.
	Rods	Rods
	Roman	The classical style of type that is upright, as opposed to oblique, is of normal weight as opposed to light or bold, and has graduated thick and thin strokes as opposed to being cursive.
	Rule	A thin line, either vertical or horizontal, often used to separate parts of a table or columns of text.
	Run-length encoding	A datacompression technique that represents sequences of values by counts of sequential items of the same value, instead of representing the values individually.
	Running head	Text such as the title, chapter, or section headings that is repeated on the tops of pages of a book.
	Runoff	A number of document-formatting programs of related ancestry that operate in batch mode and use a highly extensional set of formatting commands. Macros within Runoff allow more intentional formatting.