Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:35:23 -0700 http://typesetterforum.com/ Lussumo Vanilla 1.1.4 http://typesetterforum.com/discussion/104/?Focus=222#Comment_222 http://typesetterforum.com/discussion/104/?Focus=222#Comment_222 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:20:30 -0700 librarian I'm trying to figure this question out, "If a passage set 10/12 has 96 lines, how many inches of vertical space will it occupy? Show computations.]]> http://typesetterforum.com/discussion/104/?Focus=223#Comment_223 http://typesetterforum.com/discussion/104/?Focus=223#Comment_223 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:02:56 -0700 indiamos
Twelve points is a pica, or one-sixth of an inch, so 96 lines / 6 = 16 inches.

Alternatively, you could say, there are 72 points in an inch (digitally speaking; in traditional printing measurements it varies a tiny bit--see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography) ), so 12 * 96 / 72 = 16 inches.]]> http://typesetterforum.com/discussion/104/?Focus=225#Comment_225 http://typesetterforum.com/discussion/104/?Focus=225#Comment_225 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:43:11 -0700 librarian I really do not understand how to do this, I've tried the Chicago Manual of Style and still I'm clueless.]]> http://typesetterforum.com/discussion/104/?Focus=226#Comment_226 http://typesetterforum.com/discussion/104/?Focus=226#Comment_226 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:31:02 -0700 evansreb
The general calculation is

cpp x width in picas x number of lines = number of characters

If you are using a font that has 3.02 chars per pica at 10 pt, the calculation would be:

3.02 x 16 x 24 = ~1,160 characters

In this case, you would not need to delete any text.

A rough cpp can be figured by filling a text frame with text at the size you want (lead doesn't matter for this calculation) and using Quark or InDesign's info function to see how many characters are in that frame. Then use a modification of the above calculation to figure out that font's cpp at that size:

number of chars / number of lines / line width in picas = chars per pica

The cpp is always an approximation because word length and hyphenation affect how many characters of the real final text fit in that space.]]>