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Participant
January 9, 2009
Question

helvetica neue

  • January 9, 2009
  • 1 reply
  • 6368 views
is helvetica neue regular the same as helvetica neue roman? I cant find "helvetica neue regular" anywhere.
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    1 reply

    Known Participant
    January 10, 2009
    sarah,<br /><br />"Roman" and "Regular" would generally be the equivalent weight and appearance. Roman is often (but not consistently) used to denote an upright cut (v Italics) of a fonts with serifs, as in Time Roman.<br /><br />On the other hand, looking at an old Linotype L300 (phototype composition) sample and spec typebook, I see Helvetica Regular and (Neue) Helvetica 55 Regular, and no Roman. <br /><br />The 55 is a European weight-width ID system notation, was an attempt to regularize and organize large font families.<br /><br />As I recall, Linotype (hot metal) composition and foundry type used Helvetica Regular as well, instead of Roman.<br /><br />Go figure!<br /><br />I could also throw in "Book" as another text weight to help confuse the issue. In addition, "regular" weight fonts often have no appendage to identify their relative weight -- such as Helvetica and Helvetica 55 in yet another Linotype type book I checked. <g><br /><br />Neil