The Line Gauge, or Pica Pole, is an essential print shop tool for measuring spacing, leading, and alignment of your form. These are standard press room rulers and are marked in units of measure printers and typographers use—Picas, Points, Agate, and Inches. These rulers are stainless steel (unless noted) and are etched with graduation marks for longevity. They also have the hooked top edge feature common on this type of scale. Most of these are new-old stock and may have slight blemishes from years of storage.
We had a quantity of new steel gauges made with the Dry Inc logo and a few vintage options
Two-sided 12" Line Gauge
• 12" Stainless Steel
• Scales etched on two sides with Dry Inc logo
• One side marked with PostScript* pica and point increments
• Other side marked with inches and agates
*Please note: These new two sided line gauges offer a unique bridge between analog and digital. The pica and point scale is aligned exactly to digital PostScript points and picas. (ie 1 inch = Exactly 6 pica) This allows for precise point measurements in the physical world for work originated on the computer. If you design and print with photopolymer plates, your measurements on the screen can now be carried through onto the press. The difference between the analog North American standard and digital points and pica is very slight and the gauges still function for quick measures of spacing material or other normal printshop use.
5/7/9/11 Point 12" Line Gauge/Comp Ruler
• 12" Stainless Steel
• Scales etched on two sides
• One side marked with 5 and 7 point increments
• Other side marked with 9 and 11 point increments
One-sided Aluminum 12" Line Gauge
• 12" Aluminum
• Scales printed on one side
• Marked with 6 point increments, inch, and agate
Two-sided 18" Line Gauge w/Agate
• 18" Stainless Steel
• Scales etched on two sides
• One side marked with 6 point increments and inches
• Other side marked with 6 point increments and agates
Two-sided 18" Plastic Comp Ruler
• 18" Flexible plastic
• Scales printed on both sides
• Includes Picas, Inches, Agate, Metric points and inches
• Also includes comp point systems
Classroom Pack
• 10(ten) Two-sided 12" Line Gauges