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1. Introduction
2. The Hardware
3. The Software
4. The Lettering Process
5. Common Misconceptions

Common Misconceptions:

THE COMPUTER WILL MAKE YOU A FASTER LETTERER.

NOT TRUE

By hand I could letter perhaps 10 to 12 pages on a quiet 7 hour work day. On the computer, accounting for time spent scanning pages, I might be able to letter 8 to 10 pages in the same amount of time.

THE COMPUTER WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER LETTERER.

NOT TRUE

A computer will make basic letters more consistent, balloons rounder and caption boxes straighter, but it will not make you a better letterer any more than would a new pen. It may reduce the amount of frustration you experience (if the bullpen loses one of your overlays, you can simply reprint it), but it can also replace that frustration with another (this you'll appreciate the first time your computer crashes on you just as you finish a page that you didn't save).

The Cold Type

Many years ago at the San Diego Comic Con, standing amongst the throng, Tom Orzechowski and I were amiably discussing the art of lettering. I had not thought much about computers till then, but somehow decided to mention a SHADOW project which I knew had been lettered with computer fonts. Suddenly, Tom's face colored, his hair stood on end and he seemed to be having difficulty with his breathing. "Cold Letters must be Warmed by the Living Hand!" he boomed, then stomped away, leaving me bewildered and alone.

To be fair to Tom, our conversation didn't quite happen that way, however his thoughts did spike my curiosity and thereby set me on the path I've followed to this day. I enjoy a challenge, and pride myself on always trying to improve my own work and improve conditions for all letterers in the industry (when I worked on staff at Marvel UK, I used my influence to ensure that lettering rates there were higher than at any other company). My feeling is that computer lettering will ultimately prove to be good news for all concerned. If you are considering buying a computer, then make that investment before the technology overtakes you and your editor is insisting that you use a computer, rather than insisting that you don't.

I was fortunate. I became familiar with the Mac while working at Graphitti Designs. I was able to struggle for days with text boxes in QuarkXpress. Thereafter I spent one evening every week for over a year learning Fontographer and Illustrator. My friend Neal Sofge and I once whiled away an entire evening trying to iron out the kinks in my number 8! (We didn't have the manual)! Persevere. I guarantee that, once you're comfortable with the programs, you'll be reluctant to pick up a pen again.

All said and done, a good lettering font, electronically composed on the artwork at the color separation stage, saves everyone in the production process time and money. Most readers will not notice the difference, and those that do will probably agree that the lettering looks cleaner and sharper. However, only if you're working on your craft will they note that it looks a little better. That much will never change.

— Richard Starkings