Picas Vs Inches
swisscheese9797 (33 points) | Wed, 2008-02-06 22:04I find picas annoying so I never use them. I have always used inches because that's what I like and that's what my company prefers. But, I would like to hear from people who use picas over inches when designing and why they do. What are the benefits? Thanks.
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I fluctuate between the imperial system and picas. It's easier to divide an 11x8.5 sheet by picas rather than inches. 66 picas divided by 3=easy math. 3.66" isn't as easy to find on the ruler.
When I worked in the newspaper trade, we were strictly picas. Layouts frequently involved small and awkward sized pieces (ads, articles) that were difficult to measure in fractions of inches. Picas and points just work better in this environment.
Handy chart here for reference; just scroll down a bit on the page:
http://desktoppub.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=desktoppub&cdn=compute&tm=103&f=10&su=p284.8.150.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.burbankprint.com/tips_tricks.htm%23inches%2520to%2520picas
ttfn!
3dogmama
"Art -- the one achievement of Man which has made the long trip up from all fours seem well advised." - James Thurber
I never use them because I've never had to. I don't have a frame of reference as to how big a pica is.
It makes me wish we used centimeters instead. The math there would be much simpler too.
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Not sure why anyone would consider inches to be difficult to subdivide, as they're quite simple things >shrug<
Obviously, if you insist on using decimal inches [ 3.66" ], which inches weren't designed for, then you have to deal with the mathematics.
Never said they were difficult. I work in those increments every day. Picas are just an accepted standard of measurement at most publication houses. When in Rome...
ttfn!
3dogmama
"Art -- the one achievement of Man which has made the long trip up from all fours seem well advised." - James Thurber
Picas are just easier to work with in DTP applications for more precise positioning.
What are picas? I think it doesn't matter what measurement you use. Metric supposed to be the worldwide standard, but it will be hard for the USA to switch.