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Author Topic: interletter spacing  (Read 14,682 times)

abbocath

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interletter spacing
« on: February 18, 2011, 11:47 AM »
Hi there!

I'm trying to use the option of "character spacing", but it does not seem to work (either in the expanded or condensed text). Any hints?

Thanks very much!  :)

A

mouser

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Re: interletter spacing
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2011, 01:38 PM »
You're right, it doesn't seem to have any effect.
I will have a look.. though you may be the only person on the planet who has tried to use it.  Is it something you really have use of?

abbocath

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Re: interletter spacing
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2011, 08:12 PM »
Well, inter-letter spacing may have an impact on reading speed (e.g., a little more spacing reduces the harmful impact of having the other letters too close), so it would be great if this option works fine.

Thanks!

40hz

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Re: interletter spacing
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2011, 08:36 PM »
FYI: The typographic term for "intercharacter spacing" is "mortising" or, more commonly, "kerning."

Both terms refer to adjusting the space between font characters to improve visual appearance and enhance readability.

It can be done in two different ways. Kerning is the practice of adjusting the spacing between individual character pairs. Tracking adjusts the spacing proportionally between all characters in a selected block of text.

There's a huge amount of information, debate, and discussion about this topic up on the web. A quick Google/Bing search will bring up hundreds of articles.

For hardcopy print, the general rule of thumb is: TNT (tight but not touching). For onscreen and web typography, the jury is still out although it's generally conceded that a looser track is easier and less fatiguing to read than a 'tight' one for most users.
:)


« Last Edit: February 18, 2011, 08:38 PM by 40hz »

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