Editing Leading (section)

== Practices ==

Leading can be used to enhance the legibility of a page or block of text. In ''The Elements of Typographic Style'', [[Robert Bringhurst]] recommends more leading for longer measures, and for typefaces with darker weight, larger x-height, a vertical axis, or no serifs.<ref name="Bri12">{{cite book |title=Elements of Typographic Style |author-first=R. |author-last=Bringhurst. |location=Vancouver |publisher=[[Hartley and Marks]] |year=2012 |isbn=9780881792126 }}</ref> The typographer [[Matthew Butterick]] recommends leading between 20% and 45% of the font size.<ref>{{cite web |date=2016 |url=http://practicaltypography.com/line-spacing.html|title=Butterick's Practical Typography |publisher=Matthew Butterick |access-date=2016-03-09}}</ref>
[[File:Line spacing comparison.svg|800px|thumb|center|Comparison of different line spacings (''L'') in relation to the [[Body height (typography)|font height]] (''h''). In many [[word processor]]s the "single" line spacing is automatically set to 115% or 1.15&nbsp;em (the second column).<ref>In [[Microsoft Word]] from 97 through 2010; changed to 1.08 in Microsoft Word 2013 and 2016.</ref>]]
Double spacing is an entrenched practice due to the era of [[typewriters]] and, in academic settings, to allow the addition of handwritten comments and [[proofreading]]. Typewriters had a limited number of options for leading, and double spacing was chosen as a default. Double spacing increases the amount of unused white space on a page and reduces the number of lines on a page.<ref>{{cite web |date=2014 |url=http://practicaltypography.com/page-layout.html#links |title=Butterick's Practical Typography |publisher=Matthew Butterick |access-date=2014-10-29}}</ref> Too much leading can cause continuity problems, as the eyes of the reader are required to travel a greater distance between lines of text.<ref name="The Basics of Typography">{{cite web |date=2011 |url=http://designinstruct.com/tools-basics/the-basics-of-typography/ |title=The Basics of Typography |publisher=Design Instruct |access-date=2011-06-22}}</ref>

Text set "solid" (no leading) appears cramped, with [[Ascender (typography)|ascenders]] almost touching [[descender]]s from the previous line. The lack of white space between lines makes it difficult for the eye to track from one line to the next, makes [[River (typography)|rivers]] more obvious, and hampers [[readability]].