* Phototype can refer to a metal printing block, sometimes prepared using
photogravure
Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...
to reproduce a photograph in printing. The block may be a
halftone
Halftone is the reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone, continuous-tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size or in spacing, thus generating a gradient-like effect.Campbell, Alastair. ''The Designer's Lexicon''. ...
image.
* Phototype can also refer to type set using a
phototypesetting
Phototypesetting is a method of Typesetting, setting type which uses photography to make columns of Sort (typesetting), type on a scroll of photographic paper.
It has been made obsolete by the popularity of the personal computer and desktop publ ...
process to prepare pages for photo
lithography
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
. This process replaced
hot metal typesetting
In printing and typography, hot metal typesetting (also called mechanical typesetting, hot lead typesetting, hot metal, and hot type) is a technology for typesetting text in letterpress printing. This method injects molten type metal into a mo ...
. It was commonly used in the late nineteenth century (for book illustration), and through the 1970s and 1980s, and was in turn rapidly rendered obsolete by modern systems which employ a
raster image processor
A raster image processor (RIP) is a component used in a printing system which produces a raster image also known as a bitmap. Such a bitmap is used by a later stage of the printing system to produce the printed output. The input may be a page ...
to render an entire page to a single high-resolution digital image which is then photoset.
* Skin phototype depends on the amount of melanin pigment in the skin. It is assessed on a scale from 1 to 6. See
Fitzpatrick scale
The Fitzpatrick scale (also Fitzpatrick skin typing test; or Fitzpatrick phototyping scale) is a numerical classification schema for human skin color. It was developed in 1975 by American dermatologist Thomas B. Fitzpatrick as a way to estimate t ...
for more details.
Photographic processes
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