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COPYFITTING: HOW TO FIND OUT HOW MANY WORDS WILL FIT

The production of text-heavy publications, such as newsletters, doesn’t just involve placing artwork (graphics and photos) on a blank page. There’s also the copy (i.e. “text”) that will be part of the finished layout.

Just as the size of artwork is planned into the publication’s layout, the amount of space occupied by copy should also be determined. Unfortunately, the length of copy is not taken into account. And this can create problems in the newsletter’s production when article authors write more copy than can fit into the given space.

To avoid excess copy, a writer should be informed how much material they can create. But how do you determine how much copy will fit into a page’s allotted copy space?

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No, I didn’t have one too many to drink. The previous paragraph is an example of copyfitting text. It’s used for copyfitting and type specification purposes. The numbers in the text relate to the word count. You can create your own copyfitting text file. It is simply a series of 5-letter nonsense words where every 25th word is numbered.

If you’re working on an existing publication, you can use your copyfitting text file to determine the approximate amount of copy (based on your font and its size) that will fit in your publication.

Are you designing a new publication? You can use your copyfitting text file to create samples using various fonts. This helps visualize how much space different typefaces (at a given size) will occupy in the publication.

For copyfitting purposes, use your copyfitting text file by placing it in your document using your chosen font and other formatting options. The amount of text that fits into your allotted copy space can then be approximated and this information passed on to the writer.

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