A "pica" is a unit of measurement commonly used in typography and desktop publishing to represent the size of text, fonts, and other elements on a printed page. The pica is part of a system of measurement used in the field of typesetting, which involves arranging and designing text for printed materials.
In the pica system:
1 pica (abbreviated as "p") is equal to 12 points. 1 point (abbreviated as "pt") is approximately equal to 1/72nd of an inch.
So, 1 pica is roughly equal to 1/6th of an inch.
This system is based on the traditional point system used in printing, where a point is a very small unit of measurement. Picas and points are still widely used in the design and printing industry, especially when specifying font sizes, line spacing, and other layout details for printed materials like books, magazines, and newspapers.
In digital design and modern desktop publishing software, you can often switch between using picas and points or other units like inches, millimeters, or pixels to set and adjust the layout of text and graphic elements.
The term "micron" is a unit of measurement used to express lengths or distances, particularly in the fields of science, engineering, and manufacturing. It is a unit of length in the metric system and is equal to one millionth of a meter, or 0.000001 meters. The symbol for the micron is "µm," where the Greek letter "mu" (µ) represents "micro," indicating that it is a very small unit of measurement.
Microns are commonly used to measure things at a microscopic level, such as the size of cells, particles, or features on a microchip. It's also used in various industries for precision measurements and quality control, particularly in fields like electronics, optics, and materials science. In some contexts, microns may also be referred to as micrometers.