Great primer

{{Short description|Font size of 18 points}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}

Great primer is a large font size (18 points) that was used in the printing of English Bibles and other large-format books, leading to its other name of Bible Text. The largest size ever (or at least up to about 1843) used in England for printing books,TYPE-FOUNDING, The Penny Cyclopædia, The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, London, 1843, Volume XXV, accessed on Google Books 24 June 2010. it was several sizes larger than English (14 pt) but smaller than paragon (20 pt). It was known in Italian as testo.Savage, William, A Dictionary of the Art of Printing, London, 1841, accessed 24 June 2010 on Google Books. Other synonyms include Double Bourgeois, 18-point, Gros Romain (French), Text (Dutch) and Tertia (German).

Great-primer size fonts have been in use since William Caxton, around 1488.Hansard, Thomas Curson, Typographia: An Historical Sketch of the Origin and Art of Printing, London, 1825, accessed on Google Books 24 June 2010.