Garamond is a typeface that appears in the print workshop of Robert Estienne in 1530. Inspired by the romans created by Aldus Manutius in Venice between 1495 and 1500, Garamond surpassed them in smoothness and readability. With stronger contrast between up- and downstrokes, and with lighter serifs than in previous roman typefaces, it gave the text an excellent ventilation and a brand-new rhythm, opening up an era of typography that was detached from manuscripts, and perfectly suited for reading books, particularly small-format works. In 1535, Claude Garamont began working on punches for several romans in the style of Estienne's, and he sold them to the best printers of his time. This style of typeface, so emblematic of the French Renaissance, was used in Europe until the eighteenth century. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, there have been many versions.