A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
glossary R
raised cap
A design style in which the first capital letter of a paragraph is set
in a large point size and aligned with the baseline of the first line
of text. Compare to a drop cap.
ranging figures
Figures of even height. Synonymous with lining figures. Ranging figures
are usually titling figures , but some ranging figures are smaller than
the uppercase letters.
rationalist axis
Vertical axis, typical of Neoclassical and Romantic letterforms. Compare
humanist axis.
recto pages
The odd numbered, right-hand pages of a book. (The reverse side, is the
verso, or left page.)
Redondilla
16th century Spanish roundhang.
reflexive
A type of serif that simultaneously stops a main stroke and implies its
continuation. Reflexive serifs are typical of roman faces, including the
face in which these words are set. They always involve a sudden, small
stoppage and reversal of the pen’s direction, and more often than not
they are bilateral. See also transitive.
resolution
In digital typography, resolution is the fineness of the grain of the
typeset image. It is usually measured in dots per inch (dpi). Laser
printers,
for example, generally have a resolution between 300 and 1200 dpi, and
typesetting machines a resolution substantially greater than 1200
dpi.
But other factors besides resolution affect the apparent roughness or
fineness of the typeset image. These factors include the inherent
design
of the characters, the skill with which they are digitized, the hinting
technology used to compensate for coarse rasterization, and the type
of
film or paper on which they are reproduced.
resolution
A term that refers to the degree of detail achievable by a monitor or
printer. In monitors, resolution is commonly measured by the number of
pixels that can be displayed in a specified area. In printers, resolution
is measured in dots per inch (dpi). In either case, more pixels or dots
mean a finer graphics image.
rho R r
Seventeenth letter of the Greek Alphabet. The font Symbol most often
used on American Computers to Type Cyrillic Letters places it in the space
for capital “R.” It looks just like a serifed “P.”
RIP device
Raster Image Processor, a piece of hardware of software that converts
(rasterizes) object-oriented graphics and fonts into the bitmaps required
for output on a printer or imagesetter.
Rivers of White
A term to describe the eye-irritating lines of white formed when spaces
between words aligh vertically on a printed or written page.
Roman
The “book” or “plain” face of a type family. The early typefaces were
mechanical imitations of the handwritten letters in books of the era.
Probably the first pure roman
type was used by the brothers John and Wendelin of Speier in Venice in
1469. The next year Nicolas Jenson, also a printer in Venice but a Frenchman
by birth, produced a more distinguished roman font. It still serves as
a model for type designers. Later the foremost printer in Venice was
Aldus
Manutius, who began in 1495 to publish the Greek and Latin classics.
Aldus was the first to use the sloping type now called italic, in 1501.
Roman Numerals
The Roman numeral system, in which letters represent numbers, was dominant
in Europe for nearly 2,000 years. Roman numerals are hard to manipulate,
however, and mathematical calculations generally were done on an abacus.
Over time the easier-to-use Arabic numbers replaced Roman
numerals. Today Roman numerals are
used to indicate dates on monuments and cornerstones and to organize
outlines.
They also may number the introductory pages of books and the hours on
clocks and watches. Seven letters denote numbers in the Roman system:
I = 1; V = 5; X = 10; L = 50; C = 100; D = 500; and M = 1,000. Either
capital or small letters may be used. Repeating a symbol repeats its
value:
II = 2. A symbol is not used more than three times in a row: III = 3.
When a symbol of lesser value follows one of greater value, the two
are
added: VI = 6. When a symbol of lesser value is placed before one of
greater value, the lesser value is subtracted: IV = 4, XC = 90, CD
= 400. Numbers
involving 4 or 9 are always written by placing a symbol of lesser value
before one of greater value: 24 = XXIV. A bar over a symbol signifies
multiplication by 1,000.
Ronde
The French name for round hand, which developed out of Italic in the
early 17th century.
Rotunda
A class of blackletter types, a script used primarily in Italy, southern
France and Spain during the 14th – 15th centuries..
RR
Ragged right, which is to say unjustified.
RTF
A text formatting standard developed by Microsoft Corporation that allows
a word processing program to create a file encoded with all the document’s
formatting instructions, but without using any special hidden codes. An
RTF-encoded document can be transmitted over telecommunications links
or read by another RTF-compatible word processing program, without loss
of the formatting.
rubrics
In medieval manuscripts, the red-colored letters that were used to set
off a portion of the text, to begin a verse, or headline a prominent
line or word.
rule
A line added to a page for emphasis or decoration.
runes
Letterforms of an alphabet used by northern European peoples (esp. Anglo-Saxons
and Scandinavians). Monoline and very sharply angular.
running foot
Material, such as book title, chapter title, author’s name, or folio,
printed below the main text of a page.
running head
Material, such as book title, chapter title, author’s name, or folio,
printed above the main text of a page.