Use titling figures with full caps, and text figures in all other circumstances 17 Apr 2008 | 05:15 am

When arabic numerals joined the roman alphabet, they too were given both lowercase and uppercase forms. Typographers call the former text figures, hanging figures, lowercase figures, or old-style figu...

Don't compose without a scale 5 Feb 2008 | 07:14 am

In the sixteenth century, a series of common sizes developed among European typographers, and the series survived with little change and few additions for 400 years. [...] Use the old familiar scale, ...

Never begin a page with the last line of a multi-line paragraph 18 Aug 2007 | 05:52 am

The stub-ends left when paragraphs end on the first line of a page are called widows. They have a past but not a future, and they look foreshortened and forlorn.

Hyphenate according to the conventions of the language 12 Apr 2007 | 03:32 am

In English one hyphenates cab-ri-o-let but in French ca-brio-let. The conventions of the individual language should, ideally, be followed even for single foreign words or brief quotations.

Avoid more than three consecutive hyphenated lines 8 Apr 2007 | 02:34 am

Link short numerical and mathematical expressions with hard spaces 11 Jan 2007 | 09:36 am

Hard spaces are useful for preventing line-breaks within phrases such as 6.2 mm, 3 in., 4 × 4, or in phrases like page 3 and chapter 5.

At hyphenated line-ends, leave at least two characters behind and take at least three forward 11 Jan 2007 | 09:35 am

Fi-nally is a conventionally acceptable line-end hyphenation, but final-ly is not, because it takes too little of the word ahead to the next line.

Indent or center verse quotations 11 Jan 2007 | 09:30 am

Verse is usually set flush left and ragged right, and verse quotations within prose should not be deprived of their chosen form. But to distinguish verse quotations from surrounding prose, they should...

Add extra lead before and after block quotations 5 Nov 2006 | 06:20 am

However the block quotations are set, there must be a visual distinction between main text and quotation, and again between the quotation and subsequent text.

Add and delete vertical space in measured intervals 31 Aug 2006 | 09:37 am

Headings, subheads, block quotations, footnotes, illustrations, captions and other intrusions into the text create syncopations and variations against the base rhythm of regularly leaded lines. These ...