blog post

Automatic recognition of Lorem Ipsum during the pre-press workflow

The spread of computers and layout programmes thus made dummy text better known. While in earlier times several lines of the Lorem Ipsum text were repeated in the creation of dummy texts, today the full text of Cicero's 'De finibus' serves as the basis for many dummy text or Lorem Ipsum generators. Based on 'De finibus', these generators automatically create longer sections of the Lorem Ipsum text or various other filler texts.

The phrasal sequence of the Lorem Ipsum text is now so widespread and commonplace that many DTP programmes can generate dummy text using the starting sequence "Lorem ipsum". Fortunately, the phrase 'Lorem Ipsum' is now recognized by electronic pre-press systems and, when found, an alarm can be raised. This avoids a publication going to print with overlooked dummy text.

Certain internet providers exploit the fact that fill text cannot be recognized by automatic search engines - meaningful information cannot be distinguished from meaningless: Target-generated dummy text mixed with a certain combination of search terms can lead to an increased frequency of visits by search machine users. As a consequence, advertising revenues, which rely on website 'hits', are increased.