Well, thank you kindly, Steve. The mystery is contained herein: "On the printed page, serifs serve the purpose of making the outline of each printed character distinct from the background by creating a longer border between the printed character and the background."
On the printed page, light reflected from the page surrounding the printed character appears, to the eye, to form a smooth edge. Serifs make the edge longer, thereby providing more information for the brain to quickly recognize the character. Following is a very broad generalization and varies according to resolution, font, definition... On the computer display, the characters and background are formed from pixels. Pixels have smooth, parallel edges that enclose their color. Sans serif fonts appear crispier on the display because the character edge is more likely to mate with a pixel edge. > -----Original Message----- > From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Steven Miller > Sent: 2008-05-12 13:21 > To: framers at lists.frameusers.com > Subject: RE: Questions about look and feel > > Kelly, this is the best description I've seen so far on why serif fonts > might be easier to read on the printed page. > > It doesn't seem to address, though, why serif fonts might NOT be ideal > on the screen. I suspect that the simpler forms are easier to read in > the constant light emitted from an electronic display, but that isn't > stated precisely... > > S > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Kelly McDaniel [mailto:kmcdaniel at pavtech.com] > Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 9:21 AM > To: framers at lists.frameusers.com > Subject: RE: Questions about look and feel. > > OK, you've worn down my resistance and I must register my observations. > > Reading on the computer screen is different from reading a printed page. > Reading on an LDC or TFT display is slightly different than reading on a > CRT. (A CRT oscillates at, or very, very near the frequency of the > electric supply current. LCD and TFT displays do not oscillate, or at > least they display a more intense image persistance.) > > The printed page depends on reflected light. The background of the page > reflects all wavelengths (rendered white...most of the time, anyway) and > the print on the page blocks all wavelengths (rendered black...same > proviso as background) of light. On the printed page, serifs serve the > purpose of making the outline of each printed character distinct from > the background by creating a longer border between the printed character > and the background. This provides the eye more information whereby it > can decode the character. Once again, the printed page depends on > reflected light, and how well the characters block the reflection > (render resolution.) There is a spanner (disturbance variable) in the > works, however, and the spanner is this: The publisher has no control > over the quality, color, or amount of light. Serifs help resolve this > issue. Reading glasses help even more. > > Reading on a computer display differs from reading the printed page in > this respect: The light is direct, in contrast to reflected light. Light > emanates from the display. The characters and the background both block > all wavelengths of light that are not contained in their respective > colors. This difference is an important consideration when deciding to > use serif or sans serif fonts. Reflection, refraction, and ocular > persistence come into play. > > In general, serif fonts are "better" for printed works. Sans serif fonts > are "better" for screen displays, but, I could be wrong...regards, > Kelly. > > _______________________________________________ > > > You are currently subscribed to Framers as kmcdaniel at pavtech.com. > > Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com > or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/kmcdaniel%40pavtech. com > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit > http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
