Notice how the big capitals have thicker strokes than the faux-small caps? Scaling the big capitals down scales down the thickness of their strokes disproportionately. The “fake small caps” example uses scaled down capital letters. The following examples reveal why small caps are necessary. Choosing a typeface that includes a set of specially designed small caps is also important. In a previous article, I wrote of the importance of selecting typefaces that include both Lining and Oldstyle figures for correct typesetting of numbers. Many thanks to author and typographer Dick Margulis for editing and fact-checking. This article explores proper use of capital letters, explains the difference between big caps and small caps, and offers book design tips to help you manage abbreviations, names, directions, chapter starts and other typographic challenges. A real small cap is different from a full-capital letter in subtle but important ways. Word processors and even some typesetting programs reinforce the abuse of small caps by offering a “small caps” shortcut that scales down the uppercase letters to match the height of the lowercase characters. We all should know that writing in all capital letters is the typographic equivalent of shouting-a “capital” offense.Ī Small Capital (or “small cap”) is a specially designed character- not a regular capital letter scaled down to a smaller size.
We all know every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period.
Use of Small Capitals-uppercase characters designed at lowercase scale-is one aspect of writing and book design that isn’t taught in grammar school.