Proofreading Marks
校正記号 / 16th century– / Technique / Symbol Systems
A sign language that corrects a typeset page through dialogue with its margins. The back-and-forth of deletion and stet, and the Western dele, were refined alongside the history of printing into an editing protocol that stands behind every typeset work, this dictionary included.
At a glance
Visual cues
- Lines pairing text and margin
- Deletion and restoration exchanges
- Insertion and transposition signs
- The hierarchy of red
Best used for
- Handing corrections in a form any typesetter applies the same way
- Sorting overlapping instructions when several people mark one proof
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- Corrections in red and queries in pencil, one color per person
- Composition
- Lead lines run from the text out to the margin without crossing
- Material
- Proofs printed at full size with margins wide enough to write in
- Caution
- Corrections written as prose instead of marks leave the extent of each change open to reading, and every pass introduces fresh errors.
- Further study
- JIS Z 8208 proofreading marks / dele and stet / the migration to digital proofing
Related entries
- Penguin Cover System (ペンギン・ブックスの表紙)Shared effects: Trust.Compare Proofreading Marks and Penguin Cover System
- Flowchart (フローチャート)Shared effects: Technique / Trust.Compare Proofreading Marks and Flowchart
More from Symbol Systems
Continue through styles in the same Symbol Systems family, prioritised by shared effects.
- Braille (点字)Shared effects: Trust / Intimacy / Technique.
- Care Symbols (洗濯表示)Shared effects: Trust / Intimacy / Technique.
- Adinkra (アディンクラ)Shared effects: Trust / Intimacy.
Browse all Symbol Systems entries
Cite this entry
The dictionary is meant to be linked to. Take whichever form fits where you are writing.
- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/proofreading-marks
- Markdown
- [Proofreading Marks — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/proofreading-marks)
- HTML
- <a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/proofreading-marks">Proofreading Marks — IndexStyle</a>