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U.S. ÜKI'AKTMENT OF AGBICULTUKK

EXTENSION SEKVl<p:

Agriculture Handbook fio. 22
lettering FOR EXTENSION VISUAL AIDS

MORE SPACE

BETWEEN WORDS

THAN LETTERS.

•ref^^iH^

SHOULD BE

PLANNED.

By GERTRUDE LENORE POWER

Specialist in Visual Presentation

Division of Extension Information

This handbook is not intended for the

professional artist or sign painter. Its

purpose is to suggest various lettering

techniques that may help extension workers to make their own posters, flash cards,

flannelgraphs, charts, and other visual

aids.

Reading matter is often an important

part of a visnal aid. Sometimes, as on

many flash cards and signs, it is all of it..

Yet, how often is this reading matter so

poorly lettered or '"printed" that it is all

hut impossiljle to read.

Good lettering is orderly. This means

that letters supposed to be the same size

are the same size. It means that lines of

lettering are parallel, iniless they are deliberately put at a slight angle for emphasis. It means that there is more space

between words than between letters. It

also means that letters and spaces are as

large at the ends of lines as they are at

the beginnings. In other words, lettering

that runs uphill or downhill unintentionally is not inviting to the eye. Phrases
and sentences made up of uneven letters

and spaces are not only unattractive but

hard to read.

Lettering should he planned. When

lettering by hand, professional sign painters take the time to put in light guide lines

indicating where the tops and bottoms of

letters should be. They usually lightly

pencil-in the letters, and then, when inking or painting them in, are careful to

make all letters toe the marks of the guide

lines. Certainly the l)eginner should do

the same.

To rule in parallel guide lines on average-sized posters, charts, and the like a Tsquare is usually used. If no T-square

is available, however, an old method will

work. By placing two dots, one on the

right side of the paper or board and one

on the left, both the same distance from

the top, and Jjy then ruling through them,

a line parallel to the top of the board will,

of course, result. When several parallel

lines are needed, the process is repeated,

the first line becoming the point from

which other lines are measured. '

In all lettering, proper spacing jjetween

letters is important. When capitals are

lettered, a good general rule is to make

all spaces the same, with the exception of

those around curved letters and /. Less

space is left around curved letters than

around straight ones because each curve

itself leaves.space. More space is left

around / because the letter is so narrow

that it becomes almost lost if it is not set

off by extra space on either side. Therefore, in the word HOME less space is

HOME

HIM
tETTERlNG^

left around the 0 tluin around the / in

HIM.

Mechanical and Ready-Made Lettering

One line to indicate the bottoms of letters is usually enough when mechanical

devices and ready-made letters are used.

In most mechanical sets, templates or

tracing guides carry impressed letters

that are easily copied on paper or hoard.

Some sets offer a variety of sizes of one

simple type of letter, both straight and

italic. ( Italic or slant lettering is good

for emphasizing a word or a phrase, Ijut

straight lettering is considered easier to

read.) Other mechanical sets offer a variety of kinds of letters as well as of sizes.

The latter are likely to be expensive, but

sets capable of making fast lettering of

a limited size and style are rather moderate in cost. Some template-set lettering

is suitable for circular-letter headlines.

That of others is especially good for

signs, graphs, and charts.

For lettering on cover pages and mastheads, several ready-to-use letters can be

recommended. Some come on waxbacked sheets of paper, each sheet containing a complete alphabet, numerals,

and punctuation marks of one size and

kind of lettering. The letters desired are

cut with a razor blade from the sheets,

placed where wanted, and then rul)bed

with a rounded surface until they adhere.

Other ready-to-use letters come in small

tabs printed on both sides. They are set

in a self-alining composing stick; then,
after transparent scotch tape lias been

placed over the set-up words, they are

pasted on paper with the shiny side of the

tape down. Transparent letters are available for use on film.

For those who have photographic assistance, trick effects may be made by

photographing set-up letters in perspective, in curves, and at angles.

The foregoing ways of lettering are

good. However, some of them produce

letters that are too small for exhibit or

lecture purposes, and others, such as the

wax-backed letters, show patching and reflect glare when seen without the intervention of photographic reproduction.

Most posters and exhiijits require some

large, bold lettering. Ready-made letters

of cardl)oard or composition board are

good for this purpose. When tacked or

glued to poster or exhibit board, each letter casts a slight shadow that gives a threedimensional effect.

Gum-backed letters, ready-made of

white or black paper, may be purchased

from art and stationery stores. Usually

these are an inch or less in height. When

their l)acks are moistened they stick like

postage stamps.

Stencil sets also make lettering suital)le for display purposes. Pencil or

crayon may be stroked over the stencil onto the paper; ink of paint may

l)e brushed on; special paints may !)e

sprayed on. For neat results, it is sometimes best to trace the outline of each

letter in pencil and then to fill it in with

crayon or paint. Many stencils carry

PERSPECTIVE
^

E

E

guides for spacing. Stenciled letters are

good for a word or a phrase, but in bulk

they can become monotonous.

It may be mentioned also that rubberstamp alphabets can be useful, particularly on statistical lecture charts. Such

letters are available in heights up to several inches. Usually they are used with

stam'p-pad ink, which is slow in drying unless stamped on cloth. Poster or tempera

paints, if spread on a hard surface such

as glass, may also be used, but care must

be taken in the way in which the stamp is

pressed into the paint and then against

the final board or paper. If too much

paint is on the stamp it will squeeze out

around the edges of the letter.

Hand Lettering

There are times when nothing will do

the job so well as hand lettering. This

is true when a "flash" word is needed on

a poster or exhibit. It is true when no

mechanical or machine-made letters are

just the proper size for the space allowed.

It is true when distinctive lettering is desired. Letters cut from paper or made

with pen or brush, if well done, will have

individuality.

In general, there are two classes of letters, those with serifs, or "spurs," and

those without. Since the latter are easier

to make, they are the only ones dealt

with here.

Cut-out capital letters are not too difficult to make from the kind of tape used

in many stores for closing the ends of
|)ackages. The tape is uniolled, then cut

into squares of similar size and into rectangles of similar size. These are the

beginnings of block letters. The wide

M's and W'"s are cut from the squares; the

other letters, with the exception of /, are

cut from the vertical rectangles. Since a

roll of tape is of the same width throughout, the letters cut from it will be the same

height. Care should be taken to make

the strokes of each letter the same thickness. Penciling letters in before cutting

them is a good idea. The cutting of symmetrical letters ( those whose sides are the

same, such as A, H, M, 0, and Ü, and

those whose tops and bottoms are the

same, such as B, C, D, E, and S) will be

simplified if the rectangles are folded in

two. Whether the fold is from side to

side or from top to bottom will depend

upon the letter, of course. When completed, these home-made letters, like their

commercial cousins, may be stuck down

like postage stamps.

It is possible, of course, to cut letters

out of paper other than that which comes

in gummed rolls. Many attractively colored papers lend themselves to this treatment, but if these papers are used, the

heights as well as the widths of letters

must be measured.

Another way of making block capitals

is by using strips of opaque scotch tape

V:i- or Vi-inch wide. A strip of tape is

unrolled, laid on the board or paper on

which it will appear, cut, and the roll then

lifted away, leaving the strip of tape.

Vertical and horizontal strips are added
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p/

V"', \ \ w

with e(|iial ease. To make an H, for example, two vertical strips are placed, cut,

nihhed down, and then a horizontal strip

is run between them, cut, and pressed

down. To make a curved letter, such as

an 0, a rectangular l)ox is built of two

vertical strips joined at their tops and

bottoms i)y two horizontal strips. The

corners of this box are then cut away with

a razor blade and the letter 0 emerges

from the box. Since scotch tape comes

in several colors, the letters tluis made

can be colorful as well as bold. Tape

capitals frequently will do as good a job

as similar ])lock capitals painted directly

on the board or pa})er, and are easier to

make.

In painting block ca{)itals, their sizes,

spacing, and the width of their strokes

should be worked out carefully in pencil

Ijefore ink or paint is applied. When this

is done, outlines of letters are put in with

a pen and ruling pen, and these outlines

are then filled in with ink or paint.

Hand lettering with pen or brush requires more planning than mechanical lettering does, but anyone who can write can

letter if he will be patient enough to pencil

in guide lines and letters, and then will

follow his pencil marks.

All capitals may be made the same

width with the exception of /, M, and W.

Sometimes A and V are made a trifle

wider than letters such as B, E, and F, but

narrower than M and W. In some alphabets curved letters are more rounded than

in others. The 0, for example, may be a

complete circle, or it may be oval. If
oval, its side strokes may he curved or

they may he rallier straight. Whatever

kind of letter is decided upon in the first

place does not matter, but once used in a

piece of lettering it should he repeated

consistently. Many sign painters make

curved letters just a trifle taller than

straight letters to compensate for the space

these letters lose by being curved.

Capital letters are probably easier for

most people to make than lower-case

(small) letters, hut the latter are considered more legible. In making lower-case

letters, guide lines should l)e ruled in, not

only for the tops and l)ottoms of the capitals, but for the tops of small letters whose

strokes do not reach so high as capitals do

(e, for example) and the bottoms of letters that extend below the l)ottoms of

capitals (letters such as y). If 1-inch

capitals are used, a good relationship between lower-case and capital letters would

he ""is of an inch for small letters such as

e, 1 inch for letters such as y, with %of

an inch of the letter Ijelow the line. In

other words, small letters such as e should

reach a little over half the height of the

capitals. The upward or ascending

strokes of small letters such as h should

extend to the tops of capitals. The descending strokes of letters such as y

should reach the same distance below the

bottoms of capitals as the distance between the tops of small letters and the

tops of capitals. All upward strokes of

small letters reach the tops of capitals

except the stroke for the t, which usually

ends just a little short of this.

THEY

They
Of the valions tools for hand-letteiing,

one of the most useful is a pen that fits

into a standard penholder. This comes in

a variety of sizes and the styles include

pens with round points for strokes of the

same thickness and square points for letters made up of thick and thin strokes.

Letters with strokes of the same thickness

are usually easier to make and easier to

read than those that are alternately thick

and thin. Script may be made with either

kind of pen. Although diluted tempera

paints can he used, these pens work best

with India ink.

Another lettering tool is l)uilt like a

fountain pen and e(|uipped with four felt

nibs of different shapes. The sijuare nib

is considered best for lettering, although

the round nib may also be used to make

rather casual lettering that is effective

when used for occasional words on

posters, flash cards, signs, and charts. If

many words on a visual aid are put in

with it, however, the final effect may be

somewhat disorderly. With this pen

comes a special kind of quick-drying ink

that will work on wood and other materials as well as on paper and cardboard.

A lettering brush is the most difficult

of the letterer's tools to master. Lettering

brushes are specially designed, long with

square tips. They may be shaped to make

an even-stroke letter, but more often they

are flattened out to make thick and thin

strokes. The letterer usually dips them

into poster or tempera paint, then shapes

them on try-out paper. Ink may also be

used, but for most purposes opaque water

10
paint is hest. Oil paint on wood or metal

should be used for outdoor signs.

Wlien lettering pens or brushes are to

be used, some practice will help. Guide

Inies may be ruled 2 inches apart, and a

series of vertical strokes made between

them. These strokes should be not only

even in length, but parallel with each

other. The same should be done with

horizontal strokes, slanting strokes, and

curved strokes. The brush should be held

more vertically than a pen is normally

held. Strokes are made from the top

down and from the left side to the right

with very little pressure.

Whatever lettering is used should be

an asset to the visual aid of which it is

a part. It should help that visual aid to

do a good job. The main message of a

poster, for instance, should be easily read

at a distance of 15 feet. The lettering

on slidefilm frames should be clear and

large enough to stand great reduction.

The lettering on lecture charts should be

large enough for everyone in the audience

to read. No lettering should be used that

can be seen but not read.

(CO))

JOk.

Most of the tools and the materials mentioned herein, as well as many others are

carried by art or drafting supply stores.

in some communities they may be purchased at hardware, stationery, and book

stores, and at print shops.

ASK YOUR

DEALER

11
KIND OF LETTERING HOW TO USE

Mechanical

MACHINECUT

HAND-CUT

TAPE

BLOCK

GUM-BACKED

On charts and graphs . ..

as credit lines, on mastheads and cover pages

... as legends for exhibit photographs and

slidefilm frames.

For the big message on

exhibits, displays, post-

' ers, and poster charts ...

on slidefilm titles.

For the secondary words

on posters, exhibits,

poster charts ... on

scrapbook covers and

• indoor siens.

Wax-backed

Composing Stick

For titles on cover pages,

mastheads, and charts

that are to be reproduced.

On flash cards, posters,

* displays, exhibits, flannelgraph parts, and

July 1951

U. K. GOVtliNMtNT PKINTING OFFICF 1'JDI O - 946^20