4 ms·

I wonder why this process is not automated? I mean, it should be fairly easy to create an algorithm which would adjust letter spacing based on the actual printe

• jahewson 11y ago
  In 1994 Adobe created an automated kerning system which outperforms humans. It's built into InDesign and Illustrator. They call it "optical kerning".
• Rumudiez 11y ago
  It is, actually, and in two instances, even. Type designers use software to automatically create all common kerning pairs and to then try its best to align them on its own, after which the designer goes through them one by one to correct the program as necessary. The other way this can be used is with any endpoint design software like InDesign, which has the option to set type in the 'metric' or 'optical' modes [0]. Metric uses the font's built-in kerning pairs (if any exist), while optical overrides them with the application's own algorithm. If you're using a font that doesn't have built-in kerning pairs, though, you're probably better off choosing another typeface than blindly trusting this software in hundreds of pages of body copy. Browsers AFAIK still don't support kerning pairs and rely on their own hideous kerning algorithm, toggled on through `text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;` in CSS. [0] http://type-ed.com/2013/12/08/metrics-vs-optical/ http://type-ed.com/2013/12/08/metrics-vs-optical/
  • jahewson 11y ago
    WebKit has supported kerning pairs via `text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;` since 2010. It works just fine.