Width:

Some typefaces include fonts that vary the width of the characters (stretch).

Narrower fonts are usually labeled compressed, condensed or narrow. In Frutiger’s system, the second digit of condensed fonts is a 7. Wider fonts may be called wide, extended or expanded. Both can be further classified by prepending extra, ultra or the like.

These separate fonts have to be distinguished from techniques that alter the letter-spacing to achieve narrower or smaller words, especially for justified text alignment.

Optical size

Some professional digital typefaces include fonts that are optimised for certain sizes. There are several naming schemes for such variant designs. One such scheme, invented and popularized by Adobe Systems, refers to the variant fonts by the applications those are typically used for, with the exact point sizes intended varying slightly by typeface:

• Poster (extremely large sizes, usually larger than 72 point)

• Display (large sizes, typically 19-72 point)

• Subhead (large text, typically about 14-18 point)

• (regular is usually left unnamed, typically about 10-13 point)

• Small text (SmText, typically about 8-10 point)

• Caption (very small, typically about 6-8 point)