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How Big is a Point? (We’re Talking Font Size)

Jason Morrell

by Jason Morrell 
May 6, 2020

Have you ever wondered: What is a point? Not, what is the point, - a point? 

Whenever you see a reference to font size, it is specified in points, e.g. font size 10, font size 12. What is 'point size'? How big is a point?

Again, this is a historical convention that dates back to the original printing presses of yesteryear.

There are 72 points in one inch.

Therefore, if you are using font size 12, the text size is 12/72 of an inch high when it is printed.

Put another way, 1 inch contains exactly 6 lines of size 12 text (6 x 12 = 72).

You never know when a fun fact like that might pop up in pub trivia quiz.

So now you know!

Here are some other advanced text effects you may be interested in.

I hope you found plenty of value in this post. I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway in the comments below together with any questions you may have.

Have a fantastic day.

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About Jason Morrell

About the author

Jason Morrell


Jason Morrell is a professional trainer, consultant and course creator who lives on the glorious Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.


He helps people of all levels unleash and leverage the power contained within Microsoft Office by delivering training, troubleshooting services and taking on client projects. He loves to simplify tricky concepts and provide helpful, proven, actionable advice that can be implemented for quick results.


Purely for amusement he sometimes talks about himself in the third person.

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