Plantin (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Plantin is a transitional serif typeface
named after the printer Christophe Plantin
. It was first cut in 1913 under the direction of Frank Hinman Pierpont for the Monotype Corporation
, and is based on a Gros Cicero face cut in the 16th century by Robert Granjon. Plantin is one of the typefaces that influenced the creation of Times Roman
in the 1930s.
The intention behind the design of Plantin was to create a font with thicker letterforms than had typically been used until that time: previous type designers had reduced the weight of their fonts to make up for the effect of ink spread, but by 1913 innovations in smoothing and coating
paper had led to reduced ink spread.
Pierpont was inspired to use Granjon's designs by a visit to the Plantin-Moretus Museum
in Antwerp, Belgium
, which had them on display. The Granjon font on which Pierpont's design was based was listed as one of the types used by the Plantin-Moretus Press beginning in the 17th century, long after Plantin had died and his press had been inherited by the Moretus
family, but Plantin himself had used a few letters of the font to supplement another font, a Garamond
. The design for Plantin preserved the large x-height
of Granjon's designs, but shortened the ascenders and descenders and enlarged the counters
of the lowercase letters a and e.
During the interwar period
the face was adopted and popularized by Francis Meynell
's Pelican Press and by C. W. Hobson's Cloister press, and also used occasionally by Cambridge Press.
In more recent usage, the magazine Monocle
is set entirely in Plantin and Helvetica
.
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
named after the printer Christophe Plantin
Christophe Plantin
Christophe Plantin was an influential Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher.-Life:...
. It was first cut in 1913 under the direction of Frank Hinman Pierpont for the Monotype Corporation
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,...
, and is based on a Gros Cicero face cut in the 16th century by Robert Granjon. Plantin is one of the typefaces that influenced the creation of Times Roman
Times Roman
Times New Roman is a serif typeface commissioned by the British newspaper The Times in 1931, created by Victor Lardent at the English branch of Monotype. It was commissioned after Stanley Morison had written an article criticizing The Times for being badly printed and typographically antiquated...
in the 1930s.
The intention behind the design of Plantin was to create a font with thicker letterforms than had typically been used until that time: previous type designers had reduced the weight of their fonts to make up for the effect of ink spread, but by 1913 innovations in smoothing and coating
Coated paper
Coated paper is paper which has been coated by a compound to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness or reduced ink absorbency. Kaolinite or calcium carbonate are used to coat paper for high quality printing used in packaging industry and in magazines...
paper had led to reduced ink spread.
Pierpont was inspired to use Granjon's designs by a visit to the Plantin-Moretus Museum
Plantin-Moretus Museum
The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium honouring the famous printers Christoffel Plantijn and Jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, Plantin Press, at the Friday Market.- History :...
in Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, which had them on display. The Granjon font on which Pierpont's design was based was listed as one of the types used by the Plantin-Moretus Press beginning in the 17th century, long after Plantin had died and his press had been inherited by the Moretus
Jan Moretus
Jan Moretus, also Johann Moerentorf or Joannes Moretus, was a Flemish printer. Moretus married the second daughter of the famous Antwerp publisher Christoffel Plantijn in 1570. He had been working for Plantijn since 1557, and after his death, Jan Moretus would became the owner of his printing...
family, but Plantin himself had used a few letters of the font to supplement another font, a Garamond
Garamond
Garamond is the name given to a group of old-style serif typefaces named after the punch-cutter Claude Garamond . Most of the Garamond faces are more closely related to the work of a later punch-cutter, Jean Jannon...
. The design for Plantin preserved the large x-height
X-height
In typography, the x-height or corpus size refers to the distance between the baseline and the mean line in a typeface. Typically, this is the height of the letter x in the font , as well as the u, v, w, and z...
of Granjon's designs, but shortened the ascenders and descenders and enlarged the counters
Counter (typography)
In typography, a counter or aperture is an area entirely or partially enclosed by a letter form or a symbol . Letters containing closed counters include A, B, D, O, P, Q, R, a, b, d, e, g, o, p, and q. Letters containing open counters include c, f, h, i, s etc. The digits 0, 4, 6, 8, and 9 also...
of the lowercase letters a and e.
During the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
the face was adopted and popularized by Francis Meynell
Francis Meynell
Sir Francis Meredith Wilfrid Meynell was a British poet and printer at The Nonesuch Press.He was son of the writer Alice Meynell, a suffragist and prominent Roman Catholic convert. Francis Meynell was brought in by George Lansbury to be business manager of the Daily Herald in 1913. He was...
's Pelican Press and by C. W. Hobson's Cloister press, and also used occasionally by Cambridge Press.
In more recent usage, the magazine Monocle
Monocle (2007 magazine)
Monocle is a lifestyle magazine and website founded by Tyler Brûlé, a Canadian journalist and entrepreneur. Described by CBC News reporter Harry Forestell as a "meeting between Foreign Policy and Vanity Fair", the magazine provides a globalist perspective on issues as fashion, international...
is set entirely in Plantin and Helvetica
Helvetica
Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann.-Visual distinctive characteristics:Characteristics of this typeface are:lower case:square dot over the letter i....
.