pica em
Noun A unit of measurement in typography and printing equal to 1/6 of an inch, or approximately 4.233 millimeters. It is used to measure elements like column widths, font sizes (in the pica system), and line lengths.
The term "pica em" is a compound unit specifying that the measurement is in picas, where one "em" in this context refers to the width of the square body of a piece of type in a given point size. It is primarily used in professional typesetting and print design. * The standard column width for the magazine was set to 12 pica ems. * In the old printing manual, they specified a line length of 25 pica ems.
- In Digital Typography: While rooted in physical typesetting, the concept persists in digital design software, where picas (and pica ems) remain an available unit of measurement for layout.
- Distinction from 'Em': In modern web typography, an "em" is a relative unit based on the current font size, not a fixed measurement. "Pica em" refers specifically to the absolute, fixed unit within the pica system.
- Pica (noun): The unit itself. One pica equals 12 points or approximately 1/6 inch. Example: "The margin is 3 picas wide."
- Point (noun): A smaller typographic unit. There are 12 points in one pica. Example: "The body text is set in 10-point type."
- Em (noun): In metal typesetting, a unit of width equal to the point size of the font. In a 12-point font, one "em" is 12 points wide. This is the origin of the compound "pica em."
- Pica (when used as a linear measurement)
- 1/6 inch (the imperial equivalent)
This is a specialized technical term with a single, precise meaning in the field of typography and printing. It is not used in everyday language. The term combines two specific typographic units ("pica" and "em") to denote a fixed linear measurement.
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a linear unit (1/6 inch) used in printing
