What is "phototype"

Phototype \Pho"to*type\, n. [Photo- + -type.] A plate or block with a printing surface (usually in relief) obtained from a photograph; also, any one of the many methods of processes by which such a printing surface is obtained.

n. 1 A metal printing block, used in the photogravure process 2 type that has been set using phototypesetting 3 A measure of the susceptibility of the skin to tan, depending on the amount of melanin in the skin

• Phototype can refer to a metal printing block, sometimes prepared using photogravure to reproduce a photograph in printing. The block may be a halftone image.
• Phototype can also refer to type set using a phototypesetting process to prepare pages for photo lithography. This process replaced hot metal typesetting. It was commonly used in the late nineteenth century (for book illustration), and through the 1970s and 1980s, and was in turn rapidly rendered obsolete by modern systems which employ a raster image processor to render an entire page to a single high-resolution digital image which is then photoset.
• Skin phototype depends on the amount of melanin pigment in the skin. It is assessed on a scale from 1 to 6. See Fitzpatrick scale for more details.

Skin Phototype

Typical Features

Tanning ability

I

Pale white skin, blue/hazel eyes, blond/red hair

Always burns, does not tan

II

Fair skin, blue eyes

Burns easily, tans poorly

III

Darker white skin

Tans after initial burn

IV

Light brown skin

Burns minimally, tans easily

V

Brown skin

Rarely burns, tans darkly easily

VI

Dark brown or black skin

Never burns, always tans darkly

Category:Photographic processes