Years ago, I stumbled across a Copperplate font that actually had a lower case character set with fine serifs and all. Can’t remember where I saw it. Anybody have any clues? I know there’s a Copperplate ‘Modern’ series with conventional ULC character designs, but it doesn’t carry the same flavor as the original Plate Gothics.
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Copperplate Modern is an Oxymoron. I’ve been around type for a long time but I’ve never seen the font you are looking for. It sounds weird but I wish you luck in your search.
Thanks for being candid alan on that rounded face font that even dares to borrow the Copperplate name.
For a short dynamic headline it would be worth hand lettering a lower-case Copperplate for the right project and right client. For body text, forget it or go into it full time over the next few years.
Check Berthold, Linotype, or whomever owns the rights to Copperplate. A classic face like this only deserves the finest execution of the resulting lower-case.
Maybe Carol Twombly would care to chime in on this subject.
Alan R… have the time but not the skillset. My dad designed a few typefaces, sold them to the old Lanston Monotype Company in Philly way back in the 40’s I think. He also knew Fred Goudy personally, John Anderson, and even Richard Ellis too! Richard Ellis designed a load of books for the Limited Editions Club out of New England. They used to do all their book work letterpress printing; my dad’s place did a lot of the comp because we were mainly a monotype house, specializing in mathematics and other intricate typesetting. Monotype was the best system for doing letterpress. My dad designed Printing Impressions [magazine] which used to be a newsprint taboid back in the mid-50’s until he designed it into what it largely still is today.
Memories….. Yours truly was a repro pressman in the 50’s & 60’s until the union got jurisdiction over the Vandercooks. Then a Varitype DSJ forms composer; then an IBM Selectric MT/SC operator; then Compgraphic 4961; then Compugraphic Unisetter; then Bedford RTSC; then Macintosh… until death do us part.
I used to know this guy Steve Kennedy. I think he had a group call the Goudy Society, something like that–I don’t remember.
I worked at a print shop that had old letterpress equipment–it was pretty cool but they used it (by then) mostly for die cut stuff.
Me, the earliest serious type I was involved with was when they still referred to it as "cold type" since there were still hot metal machines around. Mostly Megenthaler VIPs (I had to put those 2 x 3 film fonts onto the drum, and later some Compugraphic.
In the old Time Life building (when there was still a Time and a Life magazine on the ceiling of one of the elevator area they put the letterpress plates to (maybe years worth) previous Time covers. I wish I had a picture of that.
With todays technology (Fontlab and recently Fontagrapher has been slightly upgraded) it is not that difficult to create a font. One can draw the characters and then outline them. The strokes have the same behavior as the bezier curves n Illustrator and Freehand.
I just can’t imagine the painstaking time to decide on shape and weight, ascenders, descender, serifs, etc.
We also don’t want Samuel Copperplate turning over in his grave when somebody tries to add lower case to a font that he explicitly designed for caps only.
Good Result for Avant Garde. I can’t see Copperplate really serving that much use if a lowercase were added, but, you never know, Copperplate Neu Condensed medium might have some use.
Avant Garde says so much just in the name of the font. It’s like you must expect it to stick out in places that don’t seem logical, just to prove its name means something. It came out of the beatnik era so must be handled accordingly.
How about posting a small image of the lc ag here?
"Oh its definitely directly at "you", but "you" don’t have to read. I’d be just as happy to know that other people know what I think of "your" post."
This thread is now closed.
Actually, alan, I like your attitude. I’ve been accused of having the brains of a caterpillar before and it is a compliment usually considering the mindset from whence cometh the snide.
Although, Ramón G Castañeda – 8:51pm Aug 23, 06 PST (#20 of 20), also personally, from me, gets no harsh remark because he also deserves none.
I think we should put personal differences aside when discussing typefaces.
Hey if its a Wooly Bear its aok with me. They are about the coolest little critters around.
Besides I’d be more insulted if I was named after a human than any animal.
I don’t have a problem with Ramón (except it is a PITA finding the accent acute). He seems to be an intellgent and thoughtful guy–we just got off on the wrong foot (and being a catepillar thats not good–way too many).
I can see that he doesn’t have a holier than thou attitude as some people do.
I feel shamed that I can’t say for sure that I knew Avant Garde was designed as an uppercase only.
What about Benguiat? It has or had its purpose for goolish movie ads I suppose but "Benguiat Gothic" whats that about. Uuuugly.
When I was a beginning Commercial Artist (remember those?) I was doing a layout as an assistant Art Director at an ad agency (there were NO computers) and the lettering I was using was my own proportions – just to fit. The Art Director gave me my first reprimand by saying "What font is this? Nielsen Grotesque?" He instructed me that I was to find the correct font to use in my layout and faithfully reproduce it in the layout. He was right, the typesetter had to follow my layout after all, and his ability to follow my layout was embraced by how well I indicated the appropriate font.
Thanks for the confidence Ann, I have sketches and ideas for fonts filed away. Maybe someday I will get fontographer and work up one of them. I have done hand lettering for headline use, but that’s as far as it goes.
I like it for advertising reasons: It works! The fact that it is easily read is my hold on this favorite of mine, better than any other face, at a great distance, quickly cutting through atmosphere and humidity conditions to reach the retina and subsequently, the recognizing brain cells. It has served me and many of my clients well. I consider it to be the ultimate face in that regard.
No, it does not do all things, or some things even very well at all, but for the above reasons, a core matter to the business of communication ‘readability at a distance’ in that department alone, I believe it is the winner over all other faces, hands down.
Tests for readability at a distance must be on billboards while flooring a red Jaguar at speeds over 140mph with the wind burning your face and the top down with tears streaming out of your eyes.
"You Could Save Hundreds On Car Insurance" in 18′ tall Helvetica Bold, black on a white background, should prove the point.
The upper case G. Looks like a graphic instruction of how to twist open the lid of a jar. What’s with the stupid little serif on it?
The lower case g. Looks like it just got kicked in the groin;
The German Es-Zet ligature (ß). The designer didn’t understand what it is. This is a flaw in many other typefaces, from Times to all of Goudy’s typefaces;
Funny. I have never once used Helvetica in a project. I’ll activate Franklin Gothic before Helvetica if I absolutely have to… just for the double-tiered ‘g’
Forgive me one moment of digression from an already pleasantly desultory thread. Just came from the Acrobat forum. I know what TrueType, PostScript, and OpenType are. What’s a "CID" font? (Ramón, you know the answer to this, I’m sure.)
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