Chapter 3. Basic Text

When I started in advertising around twenty-five years ago, setting type was an involved process. First, the copywriter typed out the text on pieces of paper. The art director or typographer then marked up the page of copy with a red pencil to indicate the typeface, point size, leading, and so on. Then, the copy was sent to a typesetting house where a typesetter retyped the text into a special typesetting machine. The text was printed onto special photographic paper and sent back the next morning. The copywriter then had to proof the text to make sure that there were no errors.

That's why I am amazed every time I use a program such as InDesign to set text. I don't type the copy onto a piece of paper; I type right onto my actual layout. I don't have to send the copy out overnight; it's right there on my computer screen. And I know that the only mistakes are the ones I make myself!