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DIN 1451 is a realist sans-serif typeface that has been defined by the German standards body Deutsches Institut für Normung since 1936. It is a widely used standard typeface for traffic, administration and business applications. In particular, DIN 1451 is the typeface commonly used on road and railway signage in Germany and a number of other countries. It was also used for many years on German car number plates, until it was replaced there in November 2000 by FE-Schrift, a font especially designed for number plates that is optimized for better tamper resistance and easier automatic character recognition.
The DIN 1451 typeface is very legible and easy to reproduce. Both a medium and a narrow version are defined today; an older broad version is no longer used but may still be encountered on some very old road signs in Germany. The typeface has gained popularity due to its wide exposure and has been also used by non-governmental organisations and businesses. For graphic design and desktop publishing, FontShop offers an extended version of this typeface called FF DIN.
The origins of this typeface go back to the "IV 44" type sheet defined by the Prussian rail network in 1906 for use on its trains. A number of glyphs have changed since then, in particular "t", "6" and "9".
Road sign with DIN 1451 Mittelschrift and Engschrift typefacesThe article series "The history of the design of a contemporary typeface" provides more information about the origins of the typeface.