Font

In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight, and style of a typeface, defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts "Roman 12pt" (or "regular"), "bold 12pt" and "italic 12pt"; each of these styles is also available in a range of other common sizes. In traditional printing, fonts were physically created using metal or wood type, with a font for each size. In the modern era of (computer fonts), the terms font and typeface are often used interchangeably. When distributed digitally, each style is typically stored in a separate digital font file, which includes the various sizes of that style. Most digital fonts are scalable, and some typesetting software allows the user to scale the type beyond those sizes specified in the file. While the various sizes of a typeface often use identical letterforms, it is not uncommon for a typeface to feature different design elements to aid readability or impact at especially large or small sizes.