TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:FONTS:On-line From:John L Patterson <a342jpatters -at- ATTMAIL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 12 Oct 1995 08:01:53 -0500
This is from my colleague Larry Zaleski who doesn't have e-mail:
Both Horton and Brockmann recommend sans serif fonts for body text in
online documents although they do not specify which one. Headlines and
headings, which are larger and not body text, can be done in a serifed font
such as Times New Roman.
The reason for using sans serif fonts is the low resolution of computer
screens. Computer screens have much lower resolution than paper. Paper
print has 300 dpi or more, but computer screens only print at 75 dpi.
Consequently, the serifs tend to blur the on screen image of the text. The
rules for selecting fonts are reversed online as compared to paper documents
for this reason.