Broken Type
Broken type is a printing defect where individual letters or characters appear incomplete, fractured, or damagingly interrupted. Parts of a letter—such as the crossbar of an "e," the stem of a "t," or the curve of an "o"—fail to print, leaving gaps that break the continuity of the character.
Consumers often describe it as:
- "Letters look chipped or cracked"
- "Parts of the text are missing"
- "The print looks crumbly"
- "Scratched-looking text"
While the term originates from traditional letterpress (where the physical metal type was actually broken), in modern printing, it usually refers to plate damage, debris interference, or digital nozzle clogs that result in broken character shapes.
Also Known As: Broken characters, type batter, plate blinding, voids (when caused by debris), dropouts, missing nozzles (digital).
In simple terms: the letter didn't print fully, looking like it has a crack or a missing piece.
What causes broken type?
In modern production, "broken type" is rarely caused by physically broken metal type anymore. It is usually a failure of the image carrier (plate) or the ink transfer system.
1) Plate wear or damage (Offset/Flexo)
Printing plates are fragile. If a plate is scratched, worn down by friction, or damaged during handling:
- The image area that holds ink is physically removed
- The resulting print shows a void or "break" in that specific spot on every page
2) Debris or "void hickeys"
If a piece of dust, paper fiber, or dried ink sticks to the blanket or plate, it can prevent fresh ink from transferring to the paper. This creates a small white spot. If this spot lands on a letter, it looks like the letter is broken.
3) Clogged nozzles (Inkjet/Digital)
In high-speed digital inkjet printing, if a specific nozzle clogs or misfires:
- A thin white streak may run down the page
- If this streak intersects a line of text, it "slices" through the letters, making them appear broken or split
4) Poor ink transfer (blinding)
Sometimes the chemical balance on an offset plate fails ("blinding"), causing parts of the image to stop accepting ink. Fine details like serifs and thin strokes are the first to disappear, making type look fragmented.
5) Rough paper surface
If the paper is extremely textured (uncoated or linen finish) and printing pressure is too light, ink may not reach the "valleys" of the paper texture. This breaks up the solids of the letters, giving them a distressed or broken appearance.
How to identify broken type in a book
What it looks like
Look for:
- Vertical or horizontal gaps slicing through letters
- Missing strokes (e.g., an "H" missing its crossbar)
- Rough edges where a clean curve should be
- Specific repetition:
- If the exact same break appears on the exact same letter every 16 pages (or signature), it is likely plate damage
- If the break is a thin white line running vertically through multiple lines of text, it is likely a digital nozzle clog
Where it shows up most
- Fine serifs (the tiny feet on letters like Times New Roman)
- Thin strokes in delicate fonts
- Textured paper stocks
- Older reprints (where the original source scan may have had broken type)
Simple at-home checks
Check A: The Magnifier Test
Look closely at the break.
- If the edges of the break are sharp and clean, it might be a scratch on the plate
- If the edges are ragged and follow the paper texture, it's likely a paper/pressure issue
Check B: The "Line of Destruction" Test
Check the area directly above and below the broken letter.
- Is there a faint white line continuing up or down the page? If so, that's a scratched plate or digital nozzle streak, not just a single broken letter
Check C: The Repetition Test
Does the exact same damage appear on the same page number in other copies of the book? If yes, the defect is on the printing plate or in the digital file itself.
Common look-alikes (and how to separate them)
1) Picking / Plucking
Picking happens when sticky ink rips a small chunk of coating off the paper.
- Difference: Picking usually leaves a visible surface crater or rough spot on the paper itself. Broken type is just missing ink; the paper surface is usually smooth
2) Weak Ink / Starvation
If ink density is just too low, text looks gray or faded.
- Difference: Weak ink affects areas (fading out). Broken type affects specific shapes (clean black text with a sudden gap)
3) Dust / Hickeys
Dust can create random white spots (voids).
- Difference: Dust spots move around or disappear after a few pages. Plate damage (broken type) stays in the exact same spot for the whole print run
Impact on book quality and readability
Readability
- Minor: A few broken serifs are annoying but readable
- Major: If breaks occur frequently, the brain struggles to recognize words, slowing down reading speed significantly. It causes eye fatigue
OCR / Scanning issues
Broken type is a nightmare for digital scanning (OCR). Computers often misread broken letters (e.g., reading a broken "o" as a "c"), leading to typos in ebook conversions.
Perceived quality
Broken type gives a distinct impression of:
- "Oldness" or "wear" (which is why "distressed type" is used for vintage designs)
- Poor equipment maintenance
- "Cheap" production values
Industry standards and "acceptable tolerances"
Usually acceptable
- Very rare, isolated instances in a long book (e.g., one or two broken letters in 300 pages)
- "Distressed" fonts where the break is part of the design style (common in covers or chapter openers)
Usually not acceptable
- Breaks that change the meaning of a character (e.g., an "E" looking like an "F")
- Consistent breaks appearing on every page (systemic issue)
- "Nozzle lines" (digital) that slice through multiple lines of text, breaking legibility
A useful rule of thumb: If you find yourself stopping to figure out what a letter is supposed to be, the type is too broken.
What you can do as a buyer
- Check the Font: First, make sure it's not a stylistic choice (a "grunge" font)
- Report it: If it makes reading difficult, return the copy
Helpful wording for support: "The text suffers from broken type—letters are fractured or have missing strokes, making reading difficult." (If applicable) "There is a white line slicing through the text that breaks the characters (nozzle streak)."