A pica is a fundamental unit of absolute measurement in typography and page layout. One pica equals 12 points, and there are exactly 6 picas to an inch in the digital PostScript standard. Printers and designers use picas to specify column widths, margins, and the overall dimensions of a type area because it provides a more precise and workable scale for text than fractions of an inch.
Set the column width to 14 picas and give me a 1-pica gutter between them.
When writing measurements, picas and points are often combined using a lowercase p, such as 12p6 for 12 picas and 6 points.
Related terms
Pica stick
A specialized metal or wooden ruler marked in picas and points used by printers to measure type and layout dimensions.
Small pica
A historic type size measuring approximately 11 points, sitting between long primer and pica.
Double pica
An older metal type size measuring twenty-two or twenty-four points.
Type area
The designated central portion of a page where the main text block is printed.