Typography Units: Points, Picas, and Pixels

The Print Legacy: Points and Picas

In traditional typesetting, sizes were measured in points.

• 12 Points = 1 Pica
• 72 Points = 1 Inch

The Digital Standard: Pixels (px)

On screens, we use pixels. In the early days of Mac, 1 pixel equaled 1 point (72 DPI). Today, with high-resolution "Retina" displays, that's no longer true.

Relative Units (em and rem)

Web designers prefer relative units.

• 1em: Equal to the current font size.
• 1rem: Equal to the root font size (usually 16px).

Key Takeaways

• Use Points (pt) for print design
• Use Pixels (px) for UI design
• Use rem for accessible web typography