Re: Standard Fonts for Technical Documentation

[Wade Courtney <wade -dot- courtney -at- gmail -dot- com>]

there is no standard, and it is somewhat based on company style, but
for the sake of argument, which I'm sure will ensue (not by you, mind
you), In the US most print documentation is in a serif font, usually
times roman, while online docs are primarily in a sans-serif font such
as Arial or Helvetica.

I'm not sure what the rest of the world does, but I have heard that in
the EU and Great Britain, almost everything is in sans-serif, be it
online or print.

I am lucky enough where I work that the marketing department has let
me have my way with the fonts I use.

Wade

On Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 8:18 AM, Chantel Brathwaite
<brathwaitec -at- castupgrade -dot- com> wrote:
> Hi -
>
> Does anyone happen to know if there are standard fonts that are used in
> technical documentation?  I've always thought that fonts, for the most part,
> are something that is part of a company's style guide, not necessarily a
> commercial one.  I didn't see an explicit mention in the AP or Chicago, I do
> know that APA - which isn't really technical - has a standard for Times New
> Roman, 10 or 12 point.  I don't have a copy of Microsoft Manual of Style
> available at the moment, but from my searches, I didn't seem to locate a
> definitive answer.  (I'm still searching though.)
>
> A bit of background about the documents:
>
> They will be technical manuals and white papers that will be either printed
> out or converted to PDF.  I'm familiar with web font recommendations for
> accessibility - but this won't be converted to HTML so that information is
> probably minimally helpful.
>
> Any information concerning this would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> Chantel Brathwaite
> Technical Writer
> Cole Engineering Services Inc.
> Web: http://www.coleengineering.com
>
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