How to Determine Letter Size on Signs

Picas and points are design and typographic terms. They are used by designers to designate or measure the size of type, in place of inches or other standard linear measures. You can use these various measures to figure out the letter size on a sign. From there, you may convert the measurements to or from inches, points or picas as necessary. This is useful if you need to create a new sign to the same specifications of the sign for which you are determining the letter size, or should you want to transform the letters to larger or smaller fonts while keeping the relative sizes of different fonts in the sign the same.

Things You'll Need

• Ruler
• Calculator

Show More

Instructions

1. • 1

     Measure the letter on the sign with a ruler, in inches.

   • 2

     Convert a fraction in the measurement, if there is one, to decimal form, dividing the numerator by its denominator. For instance, for a letter measuring 2 1/4 inches, divide 4 into 1 to get 0.25. Thus, the letter is 2.25 inches high.

   • 3

     Convert inches to points, multiplying inches by 72. Here, 2.25 times 72 gives a figure of 162 points.

   • 4

     Convert inches to picas, if that's your desired unit, by multiplying by 6. Here, 2.25 inches means 13.5 picas.

   • 5

     Convert picas to points, multiplying the picas by 12. Thus 13.5 picas converts to 162 points. Convert back from points to picas, dividing points by 12.