Chapter 4. Leading
Leading (pronounced “ledding”) is the space between lines of type. 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 text. Body text is usually made more readable by a positive amount of leading (a value greater than the point size of the type). Headlines and display type, however, may benefit from negative leading. When it comes to screen type, leading is usually referred to as line height.
Getting the Lead Out
When it comes to leading there’s no “one size fits all.” Tight ...
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