Speccing Type for Print: The Practical Details

Type specification is a technical discipline as much as an aesthetic one. The decisions you make about size, leading, tracking, measure, and optical settings determine whether the text is actually readable — not just whether it looks nice on screen.

Size and Leading as a System

Body text size and leading should be set as a relationship, not as independent values. A common starting point: leading at approximately 120% of the type size. 10pt type gets 12pt leading. But this is just a starting point — the right leading depends on the typeface's x-height, the line length, and the reading environment.

High x-height typefaces (most grotesks, many contemporary serifs) need more leading because the capital-height-to-x-height ratio creates a denser text block. Low x-height typefaces (many classical serifs) can work with tighter leading because the visual rhythm is already open.

Measure: The Line Length Variable

Measure — the width of the text column — is one of the most neglected type specification decisions. The traditional guideline is 45–75 characters per line for comfortable reading. Longer lines require more leading to help the eye find the next line. Shorter lines can use tighter leading.

I count characters by setting a few lines of text and literally counting. Or I use the em-based rule: 15–40 ems per line. For print work, I verify measure at the intended print size, not at screen scale.

Tracking vs. Kerning

Tracking (global letter spacing applied to a range of text) and kerning (pair-specific spacing adjustment) serve different purposes. Tracking adjusts the overall spatial register of the text. Kerning corrects specific problem pairs.

For body text, I typically leave tracking at zero or apply a very slight open tracking (+5 to +10 units) to improve readability on coarser substrates. For all-caps headlines or small caps, I almost always add tracking (+50 to +100 units) because all-caps text without tracking reads as cramped.

Optical vs. Metric Kerning

Most professional applications offer a choice between metric kerning (uses the typeface's built-in kern tables) and optical kerning (the application calculates spacing based on visual form). For body text, metric is usually preferable. For display-size type, optical often gives better results, especially with typefaces that have limited kern tables.

Always test. The right choice depends on the specific typeface, size, and printing environment.

The Color of Type

"Color" in typography means the overall tonal density of a block of text. Heavy weight, tight tracking, and small leading produces a dark text color. Light weight, open tracking, and generous leading produces a light text color.

Text color should be consistent within a design — a page that has varying text densities across different sections reads as unintentional. I use identical specifications for equivalent text elements throughout a document.