Desktop Publishing Terms

These days everyone uses words like “font” and “thumbnail” all the time, but have you ever wondered where we got these words in the first place? Who chose to use the words “cut, copy and paste” for manipulating text? Believe it or not, all these desktop publishing terms have a story about their origins.

Font

The term “font” was traditionally spelled “fount” in British English. It is derived from the ancient French term “fonte” which means “something that has been melted, or a casting.” It refers to the original process of metal casting used to create metal type. Each character in metal type used a metal casting.

In traditional printing, a “font” described a complete set of metal type to be used on an entire page. This set would represent a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Throughout hundreds of years and huge technological advancement, the term has remained popular. It now refers to a set of digital characters.

Cut, Copy and Paste

The term “cut, copy and paste” originates from a traditional editing process. Editors would use scissors to cut paragraphs or sentences from one page and literally glue them to another page. Until the 1980s, this traditional practice was the standard in publishing. Retail stores even sold special “editing scissors” for this specific practice. The arrival of photocopiers eventually streamlined the cut, copy and paste process.

The task of transferring text from one computer-based document to another was one of the first challenges for computer developers and editors. Microsoft eventually popularised the term with its operating system for personal computers.

Thumbnail

While it’s fairly easy to guess where the term “thumbnail” comes from, its reference to the human thumbnail is more complex than you might imagine. The term alludes to the size of an image or design element, but modern thumbnail documents aren’t necessarily the same size as your thumbnail. Due to the variety of resolution sizes, the term has become much more relative.

Although the word was first used during the 17th century, no one used it to refer to a drawing or design until the 19th century. At that time, it commonly described the size of anything concise. Biographical essays were even described as thumbnails. The modern context for the thumbnail in publishing appeared in the 1980s and has evidently grown in popularity since.

Clip Art

Much like “cut, copy and paste,” the term “clip art” originated from a traditional publishing and editing process. It refers to the practice of literally cutting images from previously printed works for recycled use. Before desktop publishing, clip art was most commonly utilised in a traditional printing practice called “paste up.” In this process, clip art was cut by hand and then attached to a scaled board for the addition of text and other art. A photographer took a picture of the final board before publishing.

It is easy to go through your typical day using all of these terms without really thinking about it; however, the origins of terms like these can be quite interesting. Understanding their origins adds another perspective as you go about your work. It’s always good to know the history of terms you use on such a common basis – undoubtedly many more also have a deeper story behind them.