Prepress Preparation, ContinuedLegibilityLegibility is your primary concern when selecting typefaces. The factors thatcontribute to legibility are the style of the letter; the type size; the line length;the spacing between lines, words, and letters; the indentations; and themargins around the print.Style of theletterLetter styles denote the overall appearance of a letter. A letter has height,weight, and decoration. Letter height is the vertical height of the letter.Letter weight is how thick (boldface) or thin (lightface or open-faced) a letterappears and whether it is condensed, expanded, or geometrically symmetric.A letter may also have serifs, kerns, and other decorative elements that affectlegibility and identify it as a particular style. Simpler letter styles, such as aRoman, Helvetica, or Bookface, have unobtrusive serifs and are easier toread than more ornate styles. Gothic, Stymie, or other letters that are sansserif or have unusual serifs are tiring to read for any length of time. Ornateand decorative typefaces lose impact when used extensively and repel readerswhen used as body text.Figure 1-12 shows letters of different decor as body text.Figure 1-12.—Type styles as text.Continued on next page1-17
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