Printing in Bodoni

Most people don't think about the font or typeface that they are reading. If this post suddenly changed to Georgia or to Helvetica, you might notice. The variations 

The printer Giambattista Bodoni was born in Saluzzo, Italy in 1740. He came from a family of engravers, and by the time he died, he had opened his own publishing house that reprinted classical texts.

He personally designed almost 300 typefaces, but he is remembered today for the typeface that bears his name and has been used in four centuries. Bodoni is still available on almost any word processing program.

Bodoni is considered to be a "didone font" and they were called "classical" designs because of their rational structure, but they were not updated versions of Roman or Renaissance letter styles, but new designs. Later, they came to be known as "modern serif fonts."

It is said that some digital versions of Bodoni are said to be hard to read due to "dazzle" caused by the alternating thick and thin strokes, particularly as the thin strokes are very thin at small point sizes.

Many people consider it to be one of the most elegant typefaces. It is most commonly used in headings and display uses and in better magazines done on high-gloss paper that allows for the fine strokes.

To a modern audience, Bodoni is best known as the name of a typeface, but he was an expert printer who ran a prestigious printing-office under the patronage of the Duke of Parma. His company's work in metal-casting of the type, printing and of the paper made in Parma were all known to be of very high quality. The smooth finish of the paper allowed fine detail to be retained.