Book blocks: ensuring that the block of text on each facing page ends on the same row.

Drop caps: stylizing the first character of the first paragraph in a chapter.

Word stacks: preventing consecutive rows of text from starting or ending with the same word.

Word spacing: adjusting the spacing between words.

Kerning: adjusting the spacing between characters.

Specifically, these are some of the things typesetters take care of: Then, the typesetting process focuses on the text format and page layout. Since everything on the page creates a complex and delicate dynamic that subliminally communicates to the reader, it’s important to make the right choices. The font family, type, and size for the body text, headlines, captions, and so on (e.g., Garamond Normal, 12-pt). How much white space should surround the text (the thicker the book, the bigger the margin) It deals with page margins, fonts, and spacingįor each project, typesetters must take into account different variables, such as a book’s length, genre, and print format, which influence their decisions around: Typesetting deals with the technique of displaying text on a page to prepare it for print, the latter deals with the style of such text, to make it visually appealing. 💡 Even though they overlap in nature, don't mistake typesetting for typography.

Although typesetting is now done digitally, it still requires a high level of skill and knowledge to manage all the aspects it entails. So, experienced typesetters have been historically in demand in the publishing world. To set the words correctly and apply the right amount of pressure when printing, this job required high precision and a skilled hand. The galley proofs were then distributed to editors and publishers, who returned them with further notes for edits and improvements.

To make sure that their copy was accurate and defect-free, typesetters would first run print tests called galley proofs, a sample of the page they’d use to check for typos (as in typographical errors). A typesetter would build each sentence with movable types on a composing stick before covering them with ink, placing the sheet of paper above, and rolling a brayer over them. Several crafts around book publishing emerged when the printing press was invented, including typesetting, which is the process of preparing pages for printing.

Click to tweet! It’s the art of arranging text on a book page

Hard as it gets a hard ink novel