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Monotype Introduces the Metro Nova Typeface Family

Thursday 08. August 2013 - New Version of the Classic Metro Design of 1930 Now Available for Digital and Print Applications

Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: TYPE), a leading provider of typefaces, technology and expertise for creative applications and consumer devices, has introduced the 26-font Metro Nova typeface family. Designed by Monotype’s Toshi Omagari, Metro Nova is the next-generation version of William Addison Dwiggins’ Metro design, released into the Linotype library in 1930.
“Metro is a classic sans serif with warm, distinctive qualities. The design was particularly popular in North America through the early 1950s,” said Allan Haley, director of words and letters at Monotype. “Toshi has done a beautiful job updating the design and expanding its usefulness to meet a wide range of digital requirements. Metro Nova appeals to today’s design sensibilities without sacrificing the essence of the original.”
The initial Metro was designed for use in industry-standard typesetting machines for the printing of newspapers, magazines and posters from the late-19th century to the 1970s. Metro was a “duplexed” typeface, whereby a pair of styles, such as roman and italic, was drawn with matching individual character widths. Dwiggins’ design took this into consideration. “An interesting challenge was removing the duplexing restrictions while still maintaining the character of the design,” said Omagari. “I eventually stopped drawing letters based on the earlier shapes and began to refine proportions to what I considered right and hoped Dwiggins would have done, if he had been given the opportunity.”
Metro Nova comprises seven weights, from ultra thin to extra black in regular proportions, and six weights as condensed designs. Each has an italic counterpart for a total of 26 fonts. The family is available as OpenType Pro fonts, which provide for the ability to easily insert typographic features such as ligatures, fractions and alternate characters. Pro fonts also offer an extended character set to support most Central European and many Eastern European languages.