Why 100pt Font No Longer Equals 1 Inch? Fix Font Size Scaling Differences Across Computers

Forum|Forum|1 month ago
February 17, 2026
3 replies
72 views

I’m not sure how it I did it, but on my old computer, whenever I set my font size to 100 pts., capital letters would measure out to 1 inch high on my project window ruler. It was nice because, 150 pts. was 1.5”, 175 pts. was 1.75”, 200 was 2”, etc. When I got my new computer, I set all my preferences to the same values, but now I have to use 72 pt. fonts to get 1” letters. I’d like to recapture the convenience of the simple calculations, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

100 pt text of an average font WOULD make capital letters about 1” high from the baseline to the top of the letter. It varies with the font design so it is not consistent. Like so: (Helvetica)

The part that doesn’t make sense is you now getting 1” high when you specify 72pt text. That doesn’t make sense

davescm

Community Expert

Given that the definition of a point in desktop publishing was established, back in the 1980’s, as 1/72 of an inch, this looks like an error on your old computer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography)

That said, the point size includes ascenders and descenders to depending on what exactly you are measuring you could get a variation by font.

Dave