10 - Osprey requirements for print
10.1 - Font
- Serif font
- Maximum resolution
- 10, 11, 12 point (larger for hardbacks, children’s books, etc.)
- Good contrast between stem and serif weight (ideal proportion 18%)
- Easily recognizable characters
- Large character set
- Italics for emphasis, not bold or underline
10.2 - Inter-character spacing
- Tight letter-spacing
- Not so tight as to cause collisions
- Tight enough to enable easy word recognition
- Ampersand
- Ligatures
- Pair kerning
10.3 - Inter-word spacing
- Close spacing
- One-sixth em minimum for print
- One-fifth should be average
- May require more depending on typeface
10.4 - Line length
- Around 66 characters & spaces per line
- May vary with type size, X-height, design of face
10.5 - Fully-justified lines
- One-em paragraph indents (but not first line of chapter)
- Requires hyphenation in order to achieve correct inter-word spacing
- Hyphenation must be dictionary-based for sensible word-breaking (i.e. minimum flow disruption)
- Syllabic or etymological word-breaking
- Ideally, no hyphen “ladders” (but they are more acceptable than uneven word spacing)
- Widow and orphan control to prevent single words, or worse, hyphenated parts of words, starting a new page: syllabic widows unacceptable.
- Hyphenation should not be used for children’s books
- Use of pair kerning, ligatures and ampersand assists
- Close spacing after full-stop and before and after other punctuation marks
- Use single quotes, only double when “nesting”
10.6 - Leading (interlinear spacing)
- Ideal is 20% addition to typeface size
- e.g. 10-point type on 12-point “body”
- Face-dependent (faces with larger x-height need more)
- Longer lines need more
10.7 - Text area (no. of lines per page)
- Should be proportional to page size (sets up perspective)
10.8 - Page size and layout
- Page size and proportions: 2:3, 1:√3, Golden section. 3:4 is a good proportion, but can’t be used for books because it makes spreads too wide and thus the book unwieldy.
- Margins should be kept clear (they have a function)
- Page number, running header
- Chapter signals (e.g. chapter heading or number)
- No other “clutter” or distraction
10.9 - Navigation
- Page turn
- Thickness of book in either hand
- Bookmark