Typometer

One of the domains where the typometer was most widely used was the editorial offices of newspapers and magazines, where it was used along with other tools such as tracing paper and linen testers to define the layout of the pages of the publications, until the 1980s.

[4] Due to the technological advancements in desktop publishing, that allow for a greater precision when setting the type size of texts, typometers have disappeared from most graphic design related professions.

The idea of organising type sizes according to a particular point system first appeared during the 18th century, in the 1723 book La Science pratique de l'imprimerie, written by French printer and bookseller Martin-Dominique Fertel.

[7] However, Fournier's prototype presented a major disadvantage, because its system of measures was very difficult to compare with the royal inches (pouces de roi) that were commonly used in France at the time.

From 1897 on, German manufacturer A. W. Faber started commercialising sliding rulers that allowed typographers to calculate in a simple manner the measures of their layouts.