Monday, August 9, 2010

MAKING A POINT

There are three metrics for determining font size. First, there are pixels (px). These are the active elements on the screen. Screen coordinates such as 1024x768 usually describe absolute pixel values.

The dots-per-inch (dpi) describes the density of the pixels. A monitor that is 14 inches across at 1024x768 has approximately 73 horizontal pixels per inch (73 dpi), while a 20-inch wide screen at the same resolution has 51 pixels per inch (51 dpi).

Finally, a point (pt) is used to describe a portable density. There are 72 pt per inch. When rendering, a 12-pt font should have letters that are 0.17 inches wide (12 pt ÷ 72 pt per inch). If the screen is 96 dpi, then the letters should be 16 pixels wide (12 pt ÷ 72 pt per inch × 96 dpi = 16 px).

When rendering the font, the system maps the font pt to the known dpi. If the screen is not configured with the correct dpi value, then the font on a printed document may appear at a different size than in the same document on the screen. Usually people don’t change the screen dpi setting, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t.

Source of Information : Wiley Ubuntu Powerful Hacks And Customizations

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