Wikipedia
Blue pencil (editing)
A blue pencil is a pencil traditionally used by a copy editor or sub-editor to show corrections to a written copy.
A red and blue copying pencil | |
| Classification | Editing |
|---|---|
| Used with | Written copies |
| Inventor | [data unknown/missing] |
| Related | [data unknown/missing] |
The colour is used specifically because it will not show in some lithographic or photographic reproduction processes, which are known as non-photo blue pencils. For similar reasons, red pencils are sometimes used since their pigment will not reproduce by xerography.
Since the introduction of electronic editing using word processors or desktop publishing, literal blue pencils are more rarely seen.
See also Edit
- Non-photo blue
- Colored pencil
- List of proofreader's marks
- Blue pencil doctrine – a legal doctrine in common law countries where some parts of a contract are enforced, but not the entire contract.
External links Edit
Look up blue-pencil in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- Johnston, John (30 August 1990), The Lord Chamberlain's Blue Pencil, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 978-0-340-52529-6