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Archiver > TMG > 2000-05 > 0957197410


From: JH&K Whitehead <>
Subject: [TMG-L:] Re: TMG-L: Font Handling Problem
Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 09:10:10 -0700
References: <3902069B.7C595110@epix.net> <4.1.20000423183814.009619e0@pop.mis.net> <390453DB.B70ADF18@epix.net> <000a01bfae2b$167a3e00$4a6130c1@in2p3.fr> <012401bfb0fd$5432e7e0$caa15ac2@1> <004601bfb12b$8e842c00$1da70218@mrdn1.ct.home.com> <010e01bfb2fc$1dba13e0$c9a15ac2@1> <00f801bfb308$8ca07720$1660f7a5@lautman> <390D7E4F.6B970164@epix.net>


JEFFREY OWENS wrote:

[snipped quote of Fran Jacobowitz's message]

> Quite a long explanation of what seems to be your personal observations
> and preferences.

Fran did a good job of explaining standard typographic conventions for a
beginner. If, in an investment forum, someone recommended that you buy low and
sell high, would you ask them for their sources?
A huge amount of study has gone into determining how to make print legible -
the number of factors involved is not likely to be believed by someone
unacquainted with the field. Other things being equal, for long passages of body
text a serif typeface is preferred by the readers in controlled experiments.
"Readers also prefer a serif to a sans serif typeface although there is no
difference in reading speed between the two." [ _The Illustrated Handbook of
Desktop Publishing and Typesetting, 2nd Edition_ by Michael L. Kleper. Blue Ridge
Summit PA: Windcrest Books, 1990, p. 24]
"Use serif type such as ITC Garamond for body copy. If you think traditional
serif type looks too formal, use a modified serif typeface such as Souvenir or
Optima." [_Editing Your Newsletter_ by Mark Beach. Portland OR: Coast to Coast
Books, 1988, p. 60]
These are just a couple of things I was able to lay hands on in _my_ cluttered
office. I'm only an amateur at this, and no doubt there are differences among the
professionals, but I think Fran's advice was on-target.

> I just did a most unscientific survey. Here in my messy office I picked
> up at random, (everything's at random) six catalogs and magazines, and
> six corporate annual reports. All twelve of my highly scientific survey
> were in ARIAL typeface.

This is certainly conceivable, but I think you are likely mistaken. Given the
number of faces available, the chance of any one face being chosen by twelve
different designers for twelve different publications seems remote. Some of the
modified serif faces are quite subtle. In any case, the subject was books, which
are quite different in design principles simply because of the amount of text to
be read.

> What authority do you quote as your definitve pronouncement that Times
> New Roman is the world's most readable typface for English?

As I'm sure you're aware, this is not what Fran said. I imagine she
recommended Times Roman because it is _the_ serif font that is virtually certain
to be available on anyone's PC. In fact, Times Roman and the other "Dutch" fonts
are optimized for newspapers, where poor printing quality must be taken into
account.

In my experience this has been an extremely civil mailing list, on which
people feel quite free both to ask questions and to offer solutions and advice. I
don't think we are well served by jumping on someone who is trying to be helpful.

John Whitehead


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