On typography
For self-publishers, one of the great benefits of personal computers is
desktop publishing. Desktop publishing allows self-publishers to set
their own type, thus eliminating an expensive, labor-intensive step. (I
should know: I used to be a typesetter. Now there's practically no such
job.)
Like any tool, desktop publishing can be used correctly or
incorrectly. Here are seven rules I've collected in 15 years of setting
type-rules that will help you to maximize readability. After all, isn't
that why you wrote all those words-so people would read them?
1. Body type should always be a serif typeface, such as
Times or Palatino. Serif type has thick-and-thin strokes and little
tails on the letters. Sans-serif type, such as Helvetica or Arial, is
acceptable for captions or short citations, but studies show it's
harder to read.
2. Body type should be justified. That is, it should have
a straight margin on the left and right side. Justified type lets the
eye establish a rhythm, which makes reading less tiring.
3. Avoid using all capital letters. When reading, the
human eye sees the silhouettes of words. When your book is in capital
letters the silhouettes are all the same, which slows the reader down.
(And in the age of email, using all caps is the same as shouting.)
4. Chances are your computer came with a lot of fancy
typefaces. Resist the temptation to use them. The easiest-to-read book
will use one type font for body copy and a second for everything
else-display type, captions, running heads, short citations, etc. (A
font includes bold and italics.)
5. Use initial capital letters, boldface, and italics
sparingly. Consult a dictionary or style guide if you're not sure
what's appropriate.
6. Think like a typesetter, not like a typist. Use italics
instead of underlines, smart quotes and apostrophes (“and,”
it’s) instead of straight ("and," it's), dashes instead of
hyphens where appropriate. Don't put two spaces after a period. Don't
use letter l for number 1.
7. The width of a column of text and the type size are
related. Edmund C. Arnold, a renowned editor, used this formula: O=lca
x 1.5. The optimum column width (O) is the length of the lowercase
alphabet (lca) times 1.5. Type the alphabet in small letters on one
line, measure it, and multiply by 1.5 to get the most readable column
width for that typeface and size.
Applying these rules will give your books a professional,
readable look. This lets the reader concentrate on your ideas.
This article first appeared in October-November 1997 newsletter of the Sacramento Publishers Association.
Copyright © 1997, 2006 Fred Sandsmark / Marble Publishing
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