The authors give a succinct overview of the fundamentals of typography as it is accessible via all-points-addressable computer-driven photocomposition. This paper is a guide to the characteristics significant for readability and appearance: type family (related set of styles), weight (darkness), posture (slant), proportion (height:width ratio), and size. Fonts are restricted only by the density of dots available on the output device. The advantages to be obtained from the effective use of type fonts include visible distinction and clarity (eye appeal), legibility (distinguishability of distinct characters), readability (reading comfort), comprehension (message absorption), and cost control. The authors mention graphics (signs, posters, ads, charts) but then concentrate on typography for documents, essentially running text. In addition to the choice of font, they discuss layout characteristics: case (upper and lower case is more readable and takes less space than all upper case), line width (affects saccadic jumps), leading (line spacing to prevent rereading the same line), and justification (full justification is more orderly, but ragged right prevents rivers of white space). Devices available for emphasis are changes in the type family, size, weight, spacing, and margins; rules; italics; a bold or large initial letter; and dingbats. The paper also discusses variants in text processing systems, which consist of the hardware, software, and firmware for editing, formatting, and presentation and which may be embedded in larger systems (for example, graphics editors or device service programs). Editing creates or modifies the text and identifies the fonts; formatting determines the placement; and presentation transforms the text to positioned specific character shapes. The authors point out the problem of font substitution--hardcopy fonts may not be the same as on a screen, and the same fonts may not be available at all nodes on a network.

Overall, this paper presents a reasonable list of considerations for the effective presentation of text. It can serve as a checklist of points to study by those who need to know more. Explanations are generally clear. Several general references are listed, but without a statement of how they complement the paper. There are some inconsistencies between the text and the illustrations, including in the characterization of the journal in which the paper itself appears.