Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2004 00:27:02 -0400
From: Jim Kling <jkling at nasw.org>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Capclave
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

Wednesday, October 20, 2004, 12:17:06 AM, Ted White wrote:

> I believe that it has been shown that proportionally-spaced fonts
> (typically Times New Roman) are easier to read.  They can save up to a
> quarter of the space occupied by text, over a fixed-space font like
> Courier.  But of course I have read a great deal of typewriter-generated,
> fixed-space material, from the fanzines of yesterday to a vast number of
> manuscripts, and I'm used to reading "Courier"-style faces.   The most
> readable column-width, for either kind of face, is around 3 inches --
> narrower than the Capclave booklet's.   This is more important when lines
> are single-spaced; the eye sometimes has trouble tracking back to the
> beginning of the next line.

Interesting. Thanks for this information. I'll keep it in mind the next time I work on a publication.

> I sincerely hope that this brings to a close this dispute.  We obviously
> both have strong personalities, but I believe they can co-exist
> comfortably.

I agree completely.

--
Jim Kling
science writer
Rockville, MD
http://nasw.org/users/jkling