One challenge for contemporary letterpress printers, in relation to setting type is ‘inter-letter-spacing’ – the visual distance between individual letters in relation to whole lines of letters and words. The issue is that unlike digital typesetting, letterpress printing is an analogue process and each letter is a physical element. Letters sit adjacent to their neighbour ‘shoulder to shoulder’. Letters can only be easily spaced in a positive way (by adding materials between letters to distance them from their adjacent neighbour), negative spacing is quite a different matter entirely.

Negative spacing is possible, but difficult. It requires a physical interaction (kerning) – the process of removing physical matter enabling one letter to site itself within the real-estate of another. The photograph below shows two very crude examples – these large (16 line) letters have been physically adjusted to enable the vertical stroke of the T to oversale the foot of the A and on the lower example the foot of the A to undersell the stem of the W. Relatively simple in execution but the process relies on someone being comfortable in physically altering each letter – for some people destroying its integrity.

In most contemporary workshops the youngest metal type was probably manufactured forty years ago and probably some wood display type being over 100 years ago! This makes these elements precious and therefore most people hesitate before taking the saw to them.

The issue is that if you are not comfortable with ‘the saw’ it will result in the widest natural kerning pairs informing the horizontal spacing of everything else. 

.… … …

Referencing Letters of Credit: A View of Type Design by Walter Tracy (1986) – He suggests that there are four groups of letters:

• Letters with an upright stroke: B D E F H I J K L M N P R U   b d h i j k l m n p q r u
• Letters with a round stroke: C D G O P Q   b c d e o p q
• Letters with a diagonal stroke: A V W X Y   v w x y
• Odd letters: S T Z   a f g s t z

These groups can change a little depending on the design of each letterforms. The process begins by selecting the similarities in shape of the right hand and left hand sides of each letter.

Tracy begins the spacing process by choosing the prototypical letters from each set. In the uppercase the letter H for the upright group, and O for the round group. In the lowercase the letter o again and for the upright the letter n – because it has an upright on both the left and a shoulder on the right (an element found in other letters like h, m, and u).

The interior space of letters also needs to be considered. Beginning with the uppercase H, Tracy recommends measuring the interior distance from stem to stem. If it is a bold face, half the distance of the interior should be on either side of the H. When multiple H’s are lined up, the space between them will be equal to the width of the interior space. For regular weight faces and lighter, Tracy recommends reducing the amount of space. There is no exact science in this, it just has to look right.

Space the uppercase O – place two O’s between two pairs of H’s forming HHOOHH. The focus is to make the spaces between the HO and the OO to be optically equivalent to the space between the HH. This spacing needs to balance within letters to create an even typographic colour. This should result, if correctly spaced (if a whole page of letters were printed of random H’s and O’s) in the same visual tone.

… … …

In Font designing software adjustments are physically typed into the sidebearings, in letterpress physical packing is used or when negative space is required, physical adjustment of each letter is done with a file (metal type) or saw (wood type).

… … …

When the text is set in small sizes, plenty of space is required between the letters to make sure that the shapes do not blend into each other, and that they retain their unique silhouettes. Conversely, when the text is used in larger sizes, the spaces between letters can be reduced, thus helping readability by improving the visual flow of the text.

When text is properly spaced, with balanced internal and external white space between the characters, the text is easier to read. British type designer, Walter Tracy, defined adjustment of space between letters as a ‘process fundamental to the success of a type design’. Czech typographer Oldřich Menhart in his educational book Tvorba typografického písma states: ‘It could even be said that the right balance and alternation of dark and light parts of the type drawing creates the distinctive character of the type, and is ultimately more important than any emphasis on originality.’

… … …

Bibliography / References:

• Tracy, Walter. Letters of Credit – A View of Type Design (1986)
• Triggs, Teal. The Typographic Experiment: Radical Innovation in Contemporary Type Design. Thames & Hudson (London) 2003.
• Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with Type. Princeton Architectural Press (New York) 2004.

• W.A. Dwiggins – letter to Rudolph Ruzika: I have a hunch that a ‘course’ formula could be worked out, because there is certainly a ‘right’ interval for a given weight and height of stem, varying as these dimensions vary, 

… … …

© Carl Middleton – May 2026.

… … …

graphic designers in taunton

graphic designers in somerset

top graphic designers in taunton 

award winning graphic designers in taunton

where can I find a good graphic designer in taunton?

#wayfinding #wayfindingstrategy #wayfindingsomerset #carlmiddleton #studiob

Wayfinding companies in Taunton 

Wayfinding Somerset

Wayfinding strategies

NHS Hospital Wayfinding strategy

Way finding and signage in taunton