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Type Case

Printing
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A compartmented tray that holds pieces of movable type. It organizes letters, punctuation, and spacing material for typesetting.

Detailed Definition
A type case is a shallow, divided drawer used to store movable type according to character and size. Traditional cases separate capital letters from lowercase letters, giving rise to the terms uppercase and lowercase. For a poetry printer, the case is part of the practical vocabulary of composition: selecting a letter, an em dash, or a thin space is a physical action. The arrangement of the case supports accurate hand-setting and preserves the type between printings.
Example
Example in poetry:
A type case is the compartmented tray that holds individual pieces of movable type for a printer; In a type case, lowercase letters traditionally occupy the lower case and capitals the upper case, giving us those typographic terms; A poet setting a title by hand selects each letter from the type case and returns it after printing; Choosing a type case with several sizes and faces lets a poet distinguish a title, epigraph, and poem text
Additional Notes
A type case stores individual sorts of movable type in labeled compartments. The terms uppercase and lowercase come from the traditional placement of capital and small letters in separate cases.
Also Known As
Compositor's Case Typesetter's Case
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