Ration Stencil

The x-height is a compact 71.5% of the cap height, below the 74.2% median for stencil fonts, lower than 10 of the 14 other stencil fonts. Ascenders on b, d, h, k and l line up with the capitals (100% of their height), and descenders on g, j, p, q and y drop 28.6% of the cap height below the baseline, deeper than 10 of the 14 other stencil fonts. Its letters are of average width for stencil fonts: an average lowercase letter, spacing included, is 79% as wide as the capitals are tall (an average capital, 92.5%), within 3.9% of the median. The o is close to a circle, 1.07 times as wide as it is tall, and W is the widest capital, at 1.25 times the width of H. Round letters overshoot: O rises 2.7% of the cap height above H and dips 1.4% below the baseline.

The letters lean about 8° to the right, where most stencil fonts in the library stand upright. Vertical stems measure 14.3% of the cap height, lighter than 8 of the 14 other stencil fonts. Ink covers 27.6% of each lowercase letter's box (its advance width by the cap height), lighter than 10 of the 14 other stencil fonts. Bridges cut through junctions, sharp corners and the tops of open curves, as on a military stencil plate.

Its 148 characters include 105 Latin letters, plus 43 figures, punctuation marks and symbols; 53 of the Latin letters are accented or special forms beyond A to Z. The word space measures 36.3% of the cap height, and the blank space either side of a lowercase letter takes up 11% of its width. Spacing is adjusted with 150 kerning pairs, the most of all 15 stencil fonts. The tightest of them is VA, which closes up by 26.7% of the cap height. The figures have different widths, so columns of numbers set in Ration Stencil will not line up exactly.

Ration Stencil is drawn on the same letter structure as 7 other fonts in the library. Compared with Ration Stencil, Marquee Round Inline cuts a thin line along each stroke, sets 11% wider and puts down 38% more ink. League Sans rings each letter with an outline, sets 6% wider and puts down 66% more ink. Pivot Sans keeps the letters plain, without the military stencil effect, stands upright and sets 15% narrower.