Sans Serif Fonts

[Tim Altom <taltom -at- IQUEST -dot- NET>]

We've experimented extensively with fonts, both serif and sans serif (which,
my Montreal colleagues promptly told me, is pronounced "sonz sireef"). We've
found that most serif fonts, being developed for high-density print
environments, were often prettier and less prone to "highway hypnosis" when
reading, but were also possessed of thick-and-thin lines; serifs that
defined and separated letters were lovely, but delicate.

This often makes serif fonts unusable for online files, as others have
pointed out, because of the much lower monitor density. But it makes them
unusable in another application, too: duplication by xerography and
facsimile. Sans serif fonts, especially the monoline types, stand up much
better when they're copied or faxed, and this makes them more useful in
office environments where a document may be copied through three or four
generations, or when it has to be viewed online or transferred by fax. Or
worst, recopied THEN sent by fax.

We typeset our books and write posted letters in serif fonts, but we often
use sans serif for manuals, online files, office documents, and the like.

Tim Altom
Vice President, Simply Written, Inc.
317.899.5882 (voice) 317.899.5987 (fax)
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