An ink trap is an intentional negative space built into the design of [characters](/glossary/character)’ [letterforms](/glossary/letterform) to literally trap ink at certain intersections of the strokes, where ink might pool or bleed and create an undesirable emboldening of the [text](/glossary/text_copy).

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![An uppercase “M” character with circles overlaid to highlight the areas of the design considered to be ink traps.](images/thumbnail.svg)

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With the evolution of print technology and on-screen use of [type](/glossary/type), ink traps in modern [typefaces](/glossary/typeface) often serve a more stylistic purpose rather than their traditional intent. However, utilitarian ink traps can still be found in type intended for small sizes (e.g. “Body” [optical sizes](/glossary/optical_sizes)), or in specific [styles](/glossary/style) (e.g. the italic form of [Ropa Sans](https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Ropa+Sans?query=Ropa+Sans)).