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Post by Sue M-V on May 24, 2008 23:20:26 GMT
I agree - I almost always use good old TNR!
Sue
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Post by Verbivore on May 25, 2008 9:39:10 GMT
I agree - I almost always use good old TNR! Sue I have a strong dislike for using Times - or its sibling Times New Roman - as I find those typefaces to be clunky and ugly (overall - though some glyphs are okay). There are so many other more worthy * faces now available. * in terms of readability and general aesthetics |
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Post by Sue M-V on May 25, 2008 9:48:58 GMT
There are so many other more worthy* faces now available.
* in terms of readability and general aesthetics
Well, don't stop there! Tease! Sue |
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Post by Barry on May 25, 2008 9:51:12 GMT
I'm with Verbivore on this. If a sans-serif font is what is needed, then there are nicer-looking, more readable fonts around than the Times family. Alas, however, for web use, there are still only a few fonts that one can be absolutely certain that everyone's browser/PC/Mac will support - and TNR is one of them  |
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Post by Geoff on May 25, 2008 11:27:23 GMT
If a sans-serif font is what is needed, then there are nicer-looking, more readable fonts around than the Times family. Are you saying that the Times font is a 'sans serif' font? In typography, a sans-serif typeface is one that does not have the small features called 'serifs' at the end of strokes. The Times font is a 'serif' font, I believe - or have I misunderstood something here. |
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Post by Dr Mildr on May 25, 2008 11:41:51 GMT
I wondered that as well. I'd call Arial a sans serif, but I thought that I'd misunderstood. I use Courier New to paste output from stats programs into Word and retain column formatting (there must be a description for such a font).
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Post by Verbivore on May 25, 2008 11:50:59 GMT
I wondered that as well. I'd call Arial a sans serif, but I thought that I'd misunderstood. I use Courier New to paste output from stats programs into Word and retain column formatting ( there must be a description for such a font). Courier is a monospaced font, not a proportional-width font, so each glyph takes exactly the same space (width) along a line regardless the glyph's width - just like an old-fashioned typewriter. And yes, Barry got his (sans) serifs back to front (but I'm sure he knew it the correct way about and was merely having one of "those" moments). |
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Post by Barry on May 25, 2008 12:57:29 GMT
Indeed, Vv, 'twas a senior moment.
Times is, of course, a serifed font.
I think I've just managed to set my knickers alight - still, with luck, the pan on the stove will boil over and put them out ...
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Post by Sue M-V on May 25, 2008 20:35:01 GMT
So, what are some preferred serifed fonts, please, if TNR isn't good enough?
Sue
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Post by Tone on May 25, 2008 21:08:49 GMT
>I have a strong dislike for using Times - or its sibling Times New Roman<Well, it's certainly my preferred font-of-choice. (Is that a tautology?) And I seldom spill the water.  Tone
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Post by Verbivore on May 26, 2008 0:06:19 GMT
Here are just a few. Some have greater or lesser x-heights, greater or lesser variance between thick and thin strokes, variations on serif size and shape, etc. The samples are all in 14 pt. Georgia has little stroke-weight variance which makes it a good screen font (and a very common inclusion in most browser font sets). There are others that I use, but they are not currently loaded on my system and I am in a rush. i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/Linguaphile/Special%20Dungeon/FontSamples.jpg |
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Post by Verbivore on May 26, 2008 8:31:33 GMT
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Post by Sue M-V on May 26, 2008 9:36:33 GMT
Thanks for the list, Vv.
I used to be very fond of Georgia, but I stopped using it when I found it wasn't universally available, and was sometimes reduced to Arial, or some other default font.
Same thing with Goudy and Baskerville, to a lesser extent. TNR seems to be universal and entirely reliable. Garamond was one of the first fonts I used, when such things became available, but it was likewise not universal, I found. Perhaps things have improved, and I should get some new/old favourites and not be so boring!
I recommend TNR to students because it is always there, and because if I don't, they are apt to use the most fanciful and unreadable fonts "for fun"!
Sue
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Post by Verbivore on May 26, 2008 10:53:46 GMT
Sue: For essay / assignment purposes, I suppose Times is okay. But I can't recall when I last saw a book set in Times - it seems to be just not done (after all, Times is a face originally intended for printing a broadsheet newspaper on low-grade stock, not fine text on high-grade stock). If one is using a wordprocessor, Times may well be as good as anything, as WP programs rarely have the type fine-tuning facilities available in professional page-layout programs. When all those fine controls are at hand, it's very satisfying to set type well, and so a large stock of fonts (many thousands, in my case) to choose from is an asset and a source of professional pleasure. I can understand your recommending Times to your students - lest you get essays submitted in calligraphic, decorative, or other body-text unsuitable fonts. A sure sign that someone has recently discovered type via their first computer - especially if they have installed MS Publisher (anathema!) - is the employment of 50 typefaces to the page (accompanied by myriad "decorative" borders). Aaarrrggghhh! |
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Post by Paul Doherty on May 26, 2008 10:53:50 GMT
I reckon that's good advice, Sue. (I almost wrote "sensible", sorry!)
Word 2007 now uses Calibri by default. I rather like it. (It's a sans serif font, though.)
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