fat

In hand composition, fat matter was any job that generated disproportionate pay for minimal effort. This included typeset pages with generous leading between lines, significant areas of blank space, large display type that took few sorts per line, or extensive use of cuts (illustrations or ornamental blocks). A compositor paid by the piece could complete such work quickly while earning the same rate as denser, more labor-intensive settings.

The opposite condition, called lean matter, was solid text with minimal leading, no cuts, and complex composition requiring many sorts and frequent sorts changes. A single page of lean matter might contain ten thousand individual pieces of type; fat matter might contain two thousand. The financial advantage to the compositor was obvious, which is why fat jobs were prized and often assigned as rewards.

Why the language survives

The term originated in the printing offices of the 1700s and remained standard through the metal type era. Foundry owners and shop foremen used it as neutral technical vocabulary: a job with ten points of leading between lines was simply a fat job. The adjective carried no moral judgment, though it could reflect workplace friction when fat work ran short and compositors faced forced assignment to lean matter.

Fat and lean matter also affected the economics of jobbing printing shops. A printer quoting rush work on fat matter could justify faster turnaround and premium rates. Conversely, complex lean matter required careful space-setting, frequent corrections, and higher compositor skill, which meant higher labor costs were legitimate even at standard rates.