H. Berthold first published Akzidenz-Grotesk in 1896. The design originates from the type used in Germany by job-setters and trade printers of earlier centuries.

This early sans serif preceded the first weight of Helvetica by over 40 years. Throughout the years, H. Berthold has expanded this extremely popular and versatile family. AG Super was developed in 1968 by Günter Gerhard Lange and is an excellent choice for headlines requiring heavily-weighted strokes.

Condensed versions are especially useful where space is tight and is particularly suited for financial statements, tables, price lists, forms and spreadsheets; the extended versions are popular for titles and headlines.

More recently, Berthold added weights and design specific characters (including math symbols and the Euro symbol), as well as the Baltic, Central European and Turkish character sets.