Typography Converter
Convert typography units between points, picas, pixels and metric units.
Written by Rahman · Last reviewed
Quick answer
Typographic units all convert through physical length. One PostScript point is 1/72 inch, or 0.3528 mm; one pica is 12 points; and one CSS pixel is 1/96 inch. A twip (from older word processors) is 1/20 of a point, which puts 1,440 of them in an inch.
| Point (pt) | 1 |
| Pica (pc) | 0.08333333924 |
| Pixel (96 dpi) (px) | 1.333333585 |
| Twip (twip) | 20.00000113 |
| Inch (in) | 0.01388888976 |
| Centimetre (cm) | 0.03527778 |
| Millimetre (mm) | 0.3527778 |
About the Typography Converter
Typography uses its own units of length (points, picas, pixels and twips) alongside everyday units. This converter moves between them and standard metric and imperial measures.
It is used in print design, page layout and digital publishing.
The point has had several definitions
The point used in modern software is the PostScript or desktop publishing point: exactly 1/72 of an inch, which is the value this converter uses. That definition is recent. Traditional American and Didot points were both slightly different sizes, and metal type was cut to those older standards.
The derived units follow from it. A pica is 12 points, and a twip (the unit used internally by several Windows and word-processing formats) is 1/20 of a point, or 1/1440 of an inch, chosen to give integer arithmetic at typical resolutions.
- Type set before digital publishing may be specified in points that are not 1/72 inch, so historical dimensions do not transfer exactly.
- Point size describes the em box the glyphs are designed within, not the height of any particular letter, which is why two fonts at the same point size can look very different.
- Line spacing is quoted in points as well and is measured baseline to baseline, independently of the type size.
A CSS pixel is not a screen pixel
This converter treats a pixel as 1/96 of an inch, which makes one point equal 1.3333 pixels, the 96/72 ratio built into CSS. That is a reference pixel rather than a physical one, and on modern displays it usually corresponds to several actual hardware pixels.
High-density screens render two or three device pixels per CSS pixel, so a 16-pixel font occupies the same apparent size while being drawn far more finely. Physical size on screen also depends on the display's own pixel density and any browser or system zoom, none of which a fixed conversion can know.
- Print work should be specified in points, millimetres or picas; screen work in CSS pixels or relative units.
- Relative units such as em and rem scale with the user's chosen text size, which fixed pixel values do not, an accessibility consideration rather than a typographic one.
- Converting a print measurement to pixels gives a layout size, not a guarantee of physical size on any given screen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a point in typography?
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A point is the basic unit of type size. In modern digital typography, 72 points equal one inch.
What is a pica?
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A pica equals 12 points, or one sixth of an inch. Picas are often used to measure column widths.
How big is a pixel?
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At the common 96 dpi standard, one pixel equals 1/96 of an inch.