These were to be used in the areas of signage, traffic signs, wayfinding, lettering on technical drawings and technical documentation. It contained several standard typefaces for mechanically engraved lettering, hand-lettering, lettering stencils and printing types. In 1931, the DIN institute published DIN 1451. History German road signs using both the DIN 1451 Mittelschrift (left) and Engschrift (right) typefaces Speed limit sign using this typeface For graphic design and desktop publishing, several type foundries offer redesigned and extended versions of this typeface. Since then, it is also used by non-governmental organisations and businesses. It was also used on German car number plates from 1956 until January 1995, when it was replaced by FE-Schrift, a typeface that impedes tampering and aids optical character recognition for automatic number-plate recognition.ĭIN 1451 has gained popularity due to its wide exposure through its release as a PostScript typeface in 1990. DIN 1451 is the typeface used on road signage in Germany and a number of other countries. The DIN 1451 typeface family includes both a medium ( Mittelschrift) and a condensed ( Engschrift) version an older extended version ( Breitschrift) has not been used since the early 1980s, but may still be encountered on older road signs in Germany. Fette Engschrift is a single weight of the DIN 1451 typeface.
Overview Early DIN-Fette Engschrift specimen. Many adaptations and expansions of the original design have been released digitally. Due to the design's legibility and uncomplicated, unadorned design, it has become popular for general purpose use in signage and display adaptations. Originally designed for industrial uses, the first DIN-type fonts were a simplified design that could be applied with limited technical difficulty.
Similar standards existed for stencilled letters. It was defined by the German standards body DIN ( Deutsches Institut für Normung, 'German Institute for Standardisation', pronounced like the English word din) in the standard sheet DIN 1451-Schriften ('typefaces') in 1931. JSTOR ( February 2014) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)ĭIN 1451 is a sans-serif typeface that is widely used for traffic, administrative and technical applications.
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