Westcott GA-96 Computer Point & Pica Ruler, Transparent Graphic Arts Ruler, 12 Inch

As a proofreader, I like this clear ruler that tells me the height of each letter in picas, the amount of space between lines (the leading), and other vital measurements. Kinda makes you feel "like an expert" to have it handy in your pencil cup when helping someone evaluate their document!

This types of rulers used to be easily available and this is the only one I could find. It is a good size... not too big and it has lots of leading space sizes, font sizes, inches and cm. Perfect.

This scale served my purpose fine. I was trying to determine whether our local newspaper had shrunk their type size. Indeed they did—from 9 pt to 8 pt type. Much more challenging to read so I went to digital except for Sunday. This scale works well, but I noticed it marks up easily. Think I’ll make a sleeve out of a sheet protector. Most of the black was painted on well. I found one tiny spot on the line scale that didn’t get quite enough ink. This used to be an important tool for me when I was a typesetter back in the 70’s and 80’s. That job is now obsolete. I guess some people still use these or they wouldn’t sell them.

I don't think I'll have this new one long enough to wear it out, nor am I still doing the kind of work that made me wear out the first one. My pica pole, my ruler, had turned yellowed and brittle with age. It had begun to chip off at the end and I couldn't any longer use it as it was. What surprised me is that I could locate with ease on Amazon this utensil that was so much a part of my daily life when I was doing newspaper work. Amazing, this tool has not changed one iota in the 25 years I had it. The new one is exactly like old one! This tool was given to me by my supervisor in the Public Affairs unit when I was in the Army National Guard. It is a "Pica Pole" ... looks like a ruler, but its primary use is to measure Picas... what's a Pica? It is a unit of measurement. For more specific info, Google it as just that Pica in measurement... or else you're going to get some stuff about eating disorders. Picas are part of points... Lessons learned here aren't gonna help much, so suffice it to say that my life was once caught up in counting picas and points. I only did that once the research was done, the story written and it was time to typeset the story... yep... start to finish was a big process just to convey knowledge to more than just a few people at a time. Newspapers did the job long before the internet. I say this because my audience here is going to soon be of the generation who don't really remember newspapers... it's all an "app" or it's on YouTube.. or iTunes... or are those starting to go the way of Alta Vista, Web Crawler and Hot Site of the Day. I know that Google and Amazon are here to stay... may be Facebook, may be Windows... Anyway, the Cassandra, having written, moves on.

Good for working on layouts and measuring font sizes. Just wish it had a mm ruler on it, then it would be perfect!

Yeah, I know. You can click on text with your mouse on the computer and it will tell you the font size and leading. BUT, yes, you still need an E-gauge. I went to a specialized high school for art, got my college degree in advertising art and design, worked as art director for a newspaper, and then as a production director for a book publishing company. Now that you know my resume, let me tell you from experience, an E-gauge is still a valuable tool. I still own the one I bought when I was in 9th grade. I bought this one to use at work. When you are presented with hard copy proofs and need to be certain the comp is following your instructions you whip this thing out and check. It is easy easy to see through and easy to read. It bends easily and doesn't break. It also stops stupid defensive arguments in the middle of a production meeting. It also comes in handy to double check press proofs of text and covers to be certain nothing happened to the file when it was ripped. Or when you are looking at an older book that's already published that you don't have electronic files for and need to know what was what with the type. You can teach an old dog new tricks but sometimes you need to make sure the young pups know the old tricks as well. Get one of these. You'll impress someone in a meeting and it will at some point save you a layout headache.

I've been doing freelance work formatting books and other documents, and it very important to know point sizes for text. I like to examine other books to compare what my client wants to what we know looks good already in print. This ruler lets me get an accurate idea of how the formatting will look on the page.

Me encantó. En los 90 tuve un modelo de esta. Me sorprendió gratamente que es casi idéntica a la que use hace más de 30 años. Buena calidad