Suggestions needed for a serif typeface with full suite of numerals

karenhuang22 January 2012 · 04:38

This is not a bona fide identification post, but I do need some recommendations.

I'm not sure if I'm asking for too much here, but I'm looking for a serif font with a full set of numerals (old style figures, proportional lining figures, tabular lining figures) and I would also like the old style figures to have a slightly higher x-height than the non-numerals.

I find true old style figures hard to use especially when you need to set it together with text (such as US$120,000). I never really know what to do as uppercase looks too large and small caps for US$ look too small.

Any suggestions / recommendations / links about old style numerals are welcome. Thanks!

Riccardo Sartori22 January 2012 · 06:03

Hrant H Papazian22 January 2012 · 08:10

Karen! Nice to "see" you here again.

> I would also like the old style figures to have a
> slightly higher x-height than the non-numerals.

This ("hybrid" figures) is what's going to narrow it down quite a bit...

You might check out Ernestine*. Nina has done a killer job
with the numerals, and has two sizes of smallcaps to boot.

* http://ernestinefont.com/features/

hhp

Juergen Weltin22 January 2012 · 10:15

I designed smaller numerals for my new sanserif Mantika Sans: http://typophile.com/node/89052
I am doing the same for its ‹mother› serif, drop me a line, if you’re interested.

Jürgen

karenhuang22 January 2012 · 12:24

Thanks for the link Riccardo.

Hey Hrant! Yes, it's been a while. And I'm kinda out of touch.
I even forgot that they were called "hybrid" figures.
That Ernestine is a beautiful one. I'll be sure to look at it in greater detail.
But what a g!

Hey Jurgen, thanks for that. But I was hoping for something along the lines of HFJ's Mercury or Chronicle, both of which do not come with OSF, according to the website.

I like text faces that still look good at display sizes.
Add that to the requirements for numerals, and I've got a very very tall order, I know.

William Berkson22 January 2012 · 14:01

Hi Karen, my Williams Caslon Text has a full set of figures, and the old style "x-height" is higher than the lower case x-height. You can find some examples here, and more on the PDF linked at the bottom of the page. As well as the four styles, old style and lining, both proportional and fixed width, there are superiors, inferiors, and lining figures at small caps sizes. These later, which are a bit unusual, I find quite useful, and they may be what you are looking for.

This is, as the name indicates, intended for text sizes. The bold and the italics work for headings say at 14pt, but the heading sizes are yet to come...

For true display sizes you can match with Big Caslon, Caslon 540, and the new award winning William., though I'm not sure where to get that latter one, which is pretty impressive.

Hrant H Papazian22 January 2012 · 14:04

William, I didn't know you'd done hybrids! Very cool.
I remember just a few years ago virtually nobody was making them.

hhp

karenhuang22 January 2012 · 20:02

Indeed! I'm still surprised that hybrid numeral haven't become more popular.

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