The
point is the smallest whole
unit of measure in
typography. It is used for measuring
font size,
leading, and other minute items on a printed page. Different points have been used since the 18th century, with measures varying from 0.18 to 0.4
millimeters. Following the advent of
desktop publishing in the 1980s and '90s, the importance of digital printing supplanted the
letterpress printing systems around the world and established the
DTP point as the
de facto standard. This measures of the
international inch (about 0.353 mm) and, as with earlier American points, is considered of a
pica.