The main physical block of a piece of foundry type. The depth of the body determines the point size of the font, dictating how much vertical space the line of text will occupy. It provides the necessary mass to hold the raised character exactly type-high and keeps adjacent letters properly spaced in the form.
The face looks like a 10-point, but it's cast on a 12-point body so it has built-in leading.
Also heard as
- shank
Related terms
Type
The physical pieces of metal or wood bearing raised characters used in letterpress printing.
Shoulder
The flat, non-printing top surface of a piece of metal type surrounding the raised letter.
Beard
The sloped area of a piece of metal type between the raised face and the flat shoulder.
Type-high
The exact standard height of printing type from its base to its printing surface.