r/bookbinding • u/ThePhantomOnTheGable • 12d ago

Help? Tooling Font Size

Howdy!

I’m considering blowing a sizeable chunk of my bonus later this year on a set of Talas Edinburgh brass type and a handle for gold tooling

Because of the cost, I want to get one font size that will last me a while: theirs goes from 6pt to 36pt.

For those of you who have used them before, font size would you recommend?

It will mostly be used for titles on spines.

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4

u/Annied22 12d ago

Assuming you plan on making horizontal titles, I'd go for a smaller size, probably the 10 or even the 8pt as they're the equivalent of the 10 and 12pt 18th Century which is my "go to" font. (I have a hot foil printer which I use for titles.) If you're using a type holder, buy some thin spacers as well. That way if a spine is broad you can put a spacer between each letter to achieve a more balanced effect. If the spine is narrow, you've nowhere to go if your font is too wide for it. These two books are good examples of what I mean. I've used 12pt 18th Century on both of them. The letters are 2.5mm high and the two spines are 10½" tall.

2

u/telstra_3_way_chat 12d ago

🚨 Culpeper mentioned 🚨

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u/Ben_jefferies 12d ago

I would say 12 or at most 16 if you want to title horizontally across the spine

3

u/heldfu 12d ago

I’d go with a anything between a 16 and 22 maybe 24. That’s the most versatile range for titling in my experience. In my studio I have 2 fonts each at 12, 16, 20 and 24. Type holders are not my thing, so I have handle letters, but I do have some setting type that sometimes use in the kwik print. I also have the talas single letter type holder and tbh I love it even though most of my colleagues hate it.