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Pat Gantt <pagantt -at- POSTOFFICE -dot- WORLDNET -dot- ATT -dot- NET> wrote:
>Not really. According to research san serif fonting
>is far more readable.
With all respect, this statement needs a lot of qualifying.
First of all, _which_ sans serif are you talking about?
Helvetica, the most popular, is widely letter-spaced, and there are many
serifs which are more readable.
Second, whether serif or sans serif fonts are more readable is very
cultural. Europe tends to favor sans serifs, North America serifs. Give
either audience the opposite of what its used to, and its members will
probably prefer what they're used to.
Third, what are you going to use the font for? Sans serifs are generally
assumed to be more readable on-screen, or for poster work, but, in North
America and Britain, serifs tend to be used for body text.
>Serif merely "appears" to be more "business-like."
>Hang over from the typewriter mentality.
Actually, serifs have about five centuries of history. They were favored
long before the typewriter.
In short, this seems the kind of debate which is so open-ended that a
definitive answer doesn't exist.
--
Bruce Byfield (bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com)
Technical Writer / Job Bank Team, STC Canada West Coast Chapter
h: (604) 421-7189
"And you won't see me surrender,
You won't hear me confess,
Cuz you left me with nothing,
But I've worked from less."
--Ani DiFranco
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