Technical Lettering

Technical Lettering is described as the process of forming letters, numerals, and other
characters in technical drawing. It is an impotent part of engineering drawing. It gives
information regarding size, and instructions, in the form of notes and dimension. With the goals
of legibility and uniformity, styles are standardized and lettering ability has little relationship to
normal writing ability.

There are two types of lettering that are commonly used in engineering. The Gothic Lettering
and the Roman Lettering.

Gothic Lettering- lettering having all the alphabets or numerals of uniform thickness.

 Single Stroke Vertical Gothic Lettering

These are vertical letter having

thickness of each line of alphabet or
numerals etc. letter is written with one
or more stems or curves and each
made with single stroke.

 Single Stroke Inclined Gothic Lettering

These are single stroke letter inclined
at 75′ to the Horizontal.

 Double Stroke Vertical Gothic Lettering

Vertical letter drawn by double Stroke

of pencil with uniform thickness
between these strokes

‘
  Double Stroke Inclined Gothic Lettering

When the letters are inclined at an

angle of 75′

 Lower Case Vertical Single Stroke Gothic Lettering

Lower case vertical gothic lettering is

shown along with its sizes which is
quite self-explanatory.

 Lower Case Vertical Double Stroke Gothic Lettering

It is shown along with its size which is

quite self -explanatory

 Lower Case Inclined Single Stroke Gothic Lettering

It is shown with its sizes which are self-

explanatory.

Roman Lettering- The lettering in which all the letters are formed by thick and thin elements. It
may be vertical or inclined or inclined.

Methods of forming letters

 Freehand lettering is done without the assistance of tools. Most freehand lettering is
done in a "gothic" style. with a constant line thickness; either "straight gothic", with
vertical strokes perpendicular to the baseline, or "inclined gothic", with vertical strokes
at about 75°.
 Mechanical lettering is done using tools such as lettering guides, templates, or using a
small mechanical pantograph a device consisting of four bars ("links") which are pinned
to each other to form a parallelogram.

Height Of Lettering

The height “h” of the capital letter is taken as the base of dimensioning. The main
requirement of lettering on engineering drawing are legibility, uniformity, ease and
rapidity in execution.

Both upright and inclined letter are suitable for general use. All letters should be capital,
except where lower case letters are accepted internationally for abbreviations.

Dimensions of Letters

The Nominal Size of lettering is defined by the height (h) of the outline contour of the
upper-case (capital). The Central Line is the imaginary line in the middle of each line or
line element which is a constitutive part of a graphic character set.

If we consider d as the width of the line element and h as the height of the line element,
then the two standard ratios for d/h are: 1/14 and 1/10, which are feasible because they
result in a minimum number of line thicknesses.

Location of Central Lines – The nominal size (h) and the spacing between characters (a)
shall be taken as the basis for defining the central line.

The nominal size is typically one of the sequence 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm, 5 mm, 7 mm, 10 mm,
14 mm, 20 mm and the lettering may be vertical or inclined to the right at 75° from the
horizontal.
Guide Lines

Guidelines are the light thin lines drawn to obtain uniform and correct height of letters.
It should be drawn very light and thin, so that, they need not be erased after the
lettering is finished. To erase guide lines after finishing the lettering is not easily possible.
Guide line for capital and lower case lettering.
How To Draw Graph For Lettering

The letters are drawn in a graph. Before drawing the alphabets or numerals of 7:4, 5:4 or
any other ratio, a graph is needed.

1. First of all take the height of the lettering and draw two parallel horizontal lines.

2. Draw an inclined line at A and mark, 7 or 5 or as required number of vertical

squares or rhombii, parts of any suitable size. Join B1 with B.

3. Draw parallel line to B1B from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 meeting the line AB at A1, A2, A3,
A4, A5 and A6.

4. From A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and A6 draw horizontal line.

 5. From point B draw line at 45′ to the horizontal.

6. Draw the vertical line for making lines for making squares and inclined line at an
angle of 75′ for making graph for inclined letters.

Importance of a Good Lettering

A. Legibility - Each letter must be distinct and not have to be read in context to be understood.
Industry can't tolerate errors caused by poor drawing legibility.

B. Corporate Pride - Some engineering companies only have their drawings to sell. Poor
lettering reflects poorly on their product and makes potential customers question their
engineering accuracy.

C. Personal Pride - You owe it to yourself to do your very best. Don't settle for anything less than
your best. Successful people aren't "average". Pay your "dues" and practice. You can improve
with effort and don't sell yourself short. Believe in yourself.

Elements of Quality Lettering

A. Stability - The bottom of letters such as B are larger than the top, not top heavy

B. Composition - Each portion of each letter is formed to an exact standard.

C. Uniformity - All "A's" are alike. All B's" are alike, etc.

D. Alignment - The imaginary axis of all letters are all parallel and either vertical or inclined to

the right at 68 degrees, no back slant.

Proper Care and Maintenance of Drafting Instruments

Drafting tools are often delicate and have many intricate and small pieces that need to be well
maintained to continue working properly. Organizing and storing these items has a great deal to
do with keeping them in pristine shape and working correctly. With a little patience and
developing a routine, your tools will be well taken care of and working for a long time. Given
below are some ways to take care of your materials.

 Pencil

a. Never sharpen the pencil over the drawing or close to any of your equipment.

b. Always keep the lead sharp.

 T-square, triangles and French curves

a. Do not use the T-square for any rough purposes.

b. Never cut paper along its working edge, since the plastics can easily be damaged. Even light
nick can ruin the T-square.

 Ruler or scale

a. Scales should not be pricked with needle points of either the divider or compass when
measurements are taken.

b. Do not use scale as a ruler.

 Speedball pens and lettering pens

a. After using, clean the speed ballpen by wiping-off or scraping the ink on it with clean cloth,
which is a little wet or you may use blade for scrapping.

b. Lettering pens, like technical pens, should be clean at once with clean water and soap. Wipe
it off with clean cloth.\
  Dividers and compasses

a. Do not oil the joints of the legs of the dividers.

b. Do not use the divider as substitute for thumbtacks in fastening the drawing paper on the
drawing board or table top.

c. The needle points must be sharp and of equal length.

 Ruling pen

a. Sharpen the nibs or blade of the ruling pen when it is no longer in a parabolical
shape.

b. Rub the dried ink on the nibs with the use of paper to avoid clogging at its end
when in use.

 Drawing paper

a. It should be stored in rolled form.

b. It should not be crumpled or wet or kept in a moist or cold place.

c. Oslo papers or bond papers must be kept in a large envelope.

 Masking tape or scotch tape, eraser and erasing shield

a. Should be kept together with other supplies to avoid losing it.

 Drawing board or drawing tape

a. It should always be in good (drawing) working condition.

b. It must always be clean on or before using.

c. Do not leave any kind of marks on your board to retain its smoothness.
 References

Drafting Materials and Their Proper Maintenance. (2017). Retrieved from

https://steemit.com/art/@steemph.cebu/drafting-materials-and-their-proper-maintenance-or-

steemph-cebu-s-5th-art-guide

Engineering Drawing. (2013). Retrieved from

https://edengdrawing.blogspot.com/2013/02/technical-lettering.html

Engineering Lettering. (2016). Retrieved from http://designbuildacademy.com/wp-

content/uploads/2016/03/Engineering-Lesson-3-Lettering-complete-explanation.pdf

Lee, F. (2009). Proper Care of Drafting Instruments. Retrieved from

https://hubpages.com/art/Proper-Care-of-Drafting-Instruments

Lettering, Dimensioning, Geometrical Constructions, and Scales. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.newacademicscience.co.uk/samplechapter/000097.pdf

Technical Lettering. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.revolvy.com/page/Technical-lettering

Technical Lettering. (2019). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_lettering

Thakur, S. (2015). Technical Lettering. Retrieved from

https://edengdrawingblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/technical-lettering/

The Use and Care The Use and Care of Drafting Equipment. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://media.scc.losrios.edu/FitzpaK/300/Equipment_Care.pdf