Original Proforma brochure for Purup Electronics

Back in 1988, the Danish company Purup Electronics was one of the world’s leading manufacturers of laser based typesetting system. PE Proforma was announced as the first typeface design exclusively for forms.

All text below comes from the brochure “The design an production of this first and uniquely Purup typeface is a logical consequence of out commitment to quality. At Purup we define quality in two ways:

The highest standard of typeface output from our systems;
The availability of a large typeface library.

As far as the latter is concerned, we are continuously enlarging our typeface library as an ongoing service to our clients worldwide. If is this belief that forms the foundations of our success.”

Vertical stems By adjusting the vertical stems with ductus changes in the small sizes, the staircase effect is minimized as much as possible. By carrying out the digitalization as an integral part of the complete design process, maximum control was exercised over the eventual reproducing of the PE Proforma, thereby avoiding any errors of interpretation.

A new typeface Why design a new typeface? After all, there are so many. This is a notion that is derived from the misconception that typefaces are not designed. They are simply there. Yet new typefaces are designed and this need is increasingly present in view of the current technological advances.

Ink-traps In order to avoid the effect of rounding off to a minimal degree, special ink-traps have been made for the small type sizes.

The process It is harder to design a straightforward typeface than an extravagant one. In any case, it is necessary to carry out a considerable part of the design process in the traditional manner, that is with pencil on paper.

Ikarus M After the preliminary design process, PE Proforma was digitalized and further designed on the computer screen, using Ikarus M. This made is possible to determine at an early stage the several consequences of particular design decisions.