Chapter 4. Leading
LEADING (pronounced “ledding”) is the space between lines of type, sometimes referred to as line spacing. The term comes from the days of hot-metal typesetting when thin strips of lead, known as reglets, were inserted by hand between the lines of type to add vertical space. Lines of type without these strips of lead were—and still are—referred to as “set solid.” Leading plays a big part in the readability of your text. Body text is usually made more readable by a positive amount of leading (a leading value greater than the point size of the type). Headlines and display type, however, may benefit from negative leading (a leading value less than the point size of the type).
Getting the Lead Out
When it comes to leading there ...
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