This is the sequence that appears in the first Font Info panel of FontLab, so it represents something of a standard, as this is what a lot of type designers and font developers go by.

However, it should be pointed out that when one of these is selected, Fontlab assigns a numerical weight value from 100 to 1000 (in increments of 100) to the font, so several of the weights share the same number.

Font weight definitions seem to be quite subjective and there's all sorts of ambiguity about where one weight ends and another begins. I guess what I'm saying is that there is no hard rule.

Nice list, Nick.
A minor inconsistency: ‘Ultra’ is more extreme than ‘Extra’ on the Light end, but not on the other.

I was going to propose "InfraLight" as a better candidate for that end of the spectrum, but I guess the world doesn't need yet another label added to the mix!

Personally, I've always felt that DemiBold was slightly bolder than Semibold and that Heavy was heavier than Black, but not as much as Ultra. Florian is right, ExtraBlack would come between Black and Ultra. UltraBlack is redundant. Fat just doesn't belong.

All completely subjective, of course.

(Craig -- I like InfraLight!)

-- K.

Wow! Thank you guys! You've all provided more info, education and thought provocation than I'd hoped for.

Florian, nice catch on the Extra/Ultra inconsistency -- tho, that is the kind of thing that'll keep me up at night, :-)

Okay! I'm off to post another question.

Thanks again! Jim

i wish i knew then what i know now

Black weights are sometimes narrower and have even smaller counters than bold or super/ultra weights, so they sort of sidestep most schemes. Take a look at FF Unit to see what I mean.

For full symmetry, "Infra" should be lighter than "White". (There have been a few fonts that use "White").

That is why Frutiger was such a smart guy when he designed Univers.

ChrisL

And then there's also 'Blond', like in Ourtype's Arnhem. Slightly lighter than Normal.

Hrm so Brunette is equivalent to Normal or is it between Normal and Demibold?

«El futuro es una línea tan fina que apenas nos damos cuenta de pintarla nosotros mismos». (La Luz Oscura, por Javier Guerrero)

Where does "Chunky" fit in? Also, I put "Svelte" between Light and Book.

Well, if we are going that far, where would Zaftic fit in? Between Rubensian and Curvacious?

ChrisL

Like all things in type seemingly - there are conventions and fashions and no real rules. Do grip the convention, but not too tightly.

"Font weight definitions seem to be quite subjective and there’s all sorts of ambiguity..."
I think weight names are only valuable relative to the family a style is in, as are the OS/2 values Nick refers to. The actual weights, expressed in units/units per em could be used across families to some extent, but in general, with selection for use being accomplished visually by humans, the only ones left in the dark are the computers.

Cheers!

For what it's worth, here are the PANOSE weights, taken from the FontLab manual:
Very Light, Light, Thin, Book, Medium, Demi, Bold, Heavy, Black, Extra Black