Tracking (typography)
Encyclopedia
In typography
, letter-spacing, also called tracking, refers to the amount of space between a group of letters
to affect density in a line or block of text.
Letter-spacing can be confused with kerning
. Letter-spacing refers to the overall spacing of a word or block of text affecting its overall density and texture. Kerning is a term applied specifically to the spacing adjustment of two particular characters to correct for visually uneven spacing. Kerning adjusts the letters closer together (negative spacing), tracking adjusts the letters further apart (positive spacing).
Letter-spacing adjustments are frequently used in news design
. The speed with which pages must be built on deadline does not usually leave time to rewrite paragraphs that end in split words or that create orphan
s or widows. Letter-spacing is increased or decreased by modest (usually unnoticeable) amounts to fix these unattractive situations.
, Adobe Illustrator
, QuarkXPress
, Adobe InDesign
, Adobe Photoshop
, and Wordperfect
, use differing, non-standard systems of adding or subtracting letter-spacing. What is common to most systems is that the default setting of letter-spacing or tracking is tight in comparison to handset letterpress or cast metal type. In the days of machine-implemented lead typesetting (c.f. Linotype
, Monotype), the amount of added spacing always had to be the same between each character which leads to an absolute tracking system still in use in QuarkXpress. In the competing Adobe layout software product InDesign the spacing adjustment is measured in percentage instead. In QuarkXPress a letter-space/tracking setting of 3 opens text measurably, and a setting of 5 begins to take on the appearance of metal type. However in the competing Adobe layout software product InDesign, a letter-space/tracking setting of 3% would be barely noticeable.
"Wide tracking" of text, beyond relaxed book composition, can look affected and earned the opprobrium of Frederic Goudy
:
Until the advent of phototypesetting
, the term "letterspacing" referred strictly to the adding of space between the individual letters of words set in metal type, in increments of a minimum of ½ point.
Letterspacing as such was expensive, involving the hand insertion of copper (½ pt.), brass (1 pt.), and printer's "lead" (2 pt.) spaces between individual pieces of type or between matrices
on linecasting machines such as the Ludlow Typograph
and the Linotype
. As such, it was studiously avoided by compositors, as adding nothing more than time to an already laborious task.
The only exceptions were in advertising type or, in book work, in very short phrases in capitals or small capitals, to keep the phrases from being too visually black compared to the rest of the typographic composition.
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
, letter-spacing, also called tracking, refers to the amount of space between a group of letters
Letter (alphabet)
A letter is a grapheme in an alphabetic system of writing, such as the Greek alphabet and its descendants. Letters compose phonemes and each phoneme represents a phone in the spoken form of the language....
to affect density in a line or block of text.
Letter-spacing can be confused with kerning
Kerning
In typography, kerning is the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result. Kerning is the adjustment of the space between individual letter forms vs. tracking which is the uniform adjustment of spacing applied over a...
. Letter-spacing refers to the overall spacing of a word or block of text affecting its overall density and texture. Kerning is a term applied specifically to the spacing adjustment of two particular characters to correct for visually uneven spacing. Kerning adjusts the letters closer together (negative spacing), tracking adjusts the letters further apart (positive spacing).
Letter-spacing adjustments are frequently used in news design
News design
News design is the process of arranging material on a newspaper page, according to editorial and graphical guidelines and goals. Main editorial goals include the ordering of news stories by order of importance, while graphical considerations include readability and balanced, unobtrusive...
. The speed with which pages must be built on deadline does not usually leave time to rewrite paragraphs that end in split words or that create orphan
Orphan (typesetting)
In typesetting, widows and orphans are words or short lines at the beginning or end of a paragraph, which are left dangling at the top or bottom of a column, separated from the rest of the paragraph...
s or widows. Letter-spacing is increased or decreased by modest (usually unnoticeable) amounts to fix these unattractive situations.
Varying systems of letter-spacing
Personal computer based applications including Microsoft WordMicrosoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. Illustrator is similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to its competitors, CorelDraw, Xara Designer Pro and Macromedia FreeHand....
, QuarkXPress
QuarkXPress
QuarkXPress is a computer application for creating and editing complex page layouts in a WYSIWYG environment. It runs on Mac OS X and Windows. It was first released by Quark, Inc...
, Adobe InDesign
Adobe InDesign
Adobe InDesign is a software application produced by Adobe Systems. It can be used to create works such as posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers and books. In conjunction with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite InDesign can publish content suitable for tablet devices...
, Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
, and Wordperfect
WordPerfect
WordPerfect is a word processing application, now owned by Corel.Bruce Bastian, a Brigham Young University graduate student, and BYU computer science professor Dr. Alan Ashton joined forces to design a word processing system for the city of Orem's Data General Corp. minicomputer system in 1979...
, use differing, non-standard systems of adding or subtracting letter-spacing. What is common to most systems is that the default setting of letter-spacing or tracking is tight in comparison to handset letterpress or cast metal type. In the days of machine-implemented lead typesetting (c.f. Linotype
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
, Monotype), the amount of added spacing always had to be the same between each character which leads to an absolute tracking system still in use in QuarkXpress. In the competing Adobe layout software product InDesign the spacing adjustment is measured in percentage instead. In QuarkXPress a letter-space/tracking setting of 3 opens text measurably, and a setting of 5 begins to take on the appearance of metal type. However in the competing Adobe layout software product InDesign, a letter-space/tracking setting of 3% would be barely noticeable.
Letter-spacing and legibility
The amount of letter-spacing in text can affect legibility. Tight letter-spacing, particularly in small text sizes, can diminish legibility. The addition of minimal letter-spacing can often increase the legibility and readability. Added whitespace around the characters allows the individual characters to emerge and be recognized more quickly. (However, addition of space to the point that individual letters become isolated rather than simply easily identifiable destroys legibility and readability. Words are often identified by their shape as well as by the individual letters.) As reading with phonetic writing systems is based in part on word shape recognition, part on context, and with unfamiliar words, on phonetic pronunciation, recognition of individual characters can be aided by slightly increased letter-spacing.Letter-spacing with fixed spaces
Letter-spacing may also refer to the insertion of a fixed space. This is a more mechanical method which relies less upon spacing and kerning tables resident in each typeface and accessed and used when letterspacing is applied universally. Fixed spaces include a wordspace, en-space, and em-space. An en-space and em-space measure approximately the width of an uppercase character N or M in the typeface being used. Fixed spaces are sometimes inserted between capitals and small capitals.Letter-spacing’s effect on message
The amount of letter-spacing can affect how text is perceived. Tight default letter-spacing, or minus letter-spacing, in text not only can reduce the legibility and readability of text, it can trigger a cultural association that tight letter-spacing is associated with advertising and therefore more subjective – the equivalent of a fast-talking car salesman. Conversely, the increase of letter-spacing in text (to an extent) increases legibility, and the cultural association is of a more objective typographic voice."Wide tracking" of text, beyond relaxed book composition, can look affected and earned the opprobrium of Frederic Goudy
Frederic Goudy
Frederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
:
Until the advent of phototypesetting
Phototypesetting
Phototypesetting was a method of setting type, rendered obsolete with the popularity of the personal computer and desktop publishing software, that uses a photographic process to generate columns of type on a scroll of photographic paper...
, the term "letterspacing" referred strictly to the adding of space between the individual letters of words set in metal type, in increments of a minimum of ½ point.
Letterspacing as such was expensive, involving the hand insertion of copper (½ pt.), brass (1 pt.), and printer's "lead" (2 pt.) spaces between individual pieces of type or between matrices
Matrix (printing)
In hot metal typesetting, a matrix is a mold for casting a letter, known as a sort, used in letterpress printing....
on linecasting machines such as the Ludlow Typograph
Ludlow Typograph
A Ludlow Typograph is a hot metal typesetting system used in letterpress printing. The device casts bars, or slugs of type, out of type metal primarily consisting of lead. These slugs are used for the actual printing, and then are melted down and recycled on the spot.The Ludlow system uses molds,...
and the Linotype
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
. As such, it was studiously avoided by compositors, as adding nothing more than time to an already laborious task.
The only exceptions were in advertising type or, in book work, in very short phrases in capitals or small capitals, to keep the phrases from being too visually black compared to the rest of the typographic composition.
See also
- KashidaKashidaKashida is a type of justification used in some cursive scripts, particularly Arabic. In contrast to white-space justification, which increases the length of a line of text by expanding spaces between words or individual letters, kashida justification is accomplished by elongating characters at...
– analog in Arab-Persian scripts - KerningKerningIn typography, kerning is the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result. Kerning is the adjustment of the space between individual letter forms vs. tracking which is the uniform adjustment of spacing applied over a...
- MicrotypographyMicrotypographyMicrotypography is the name given to a range of methods for improving the readability and appearance of text, especially justified text. The methods reduce the appearance of large interword spaces and create edges to the text that appear more even.- Methods :...
- Sentence spacing
- Word spacingWord spacingWord spacing in typography refers to the size of the space between words. It should be distinguished from letter spacing and sentence spacing...
External links
- A logo with tight tracking Notice the letters almost touch each other, especially the “r” and “a”
- A logo with loose tracking Notice the large amount of white space between letters. An entire extra letter could fit in between each letter.
