What Type of Font Is Used in Most Newspapers?
Most newspapers use a version of the Times typeface--also known as a font--for the body copy in their columns. The Times of London, not to be confused with The New York Times, commissioned a graphic designer to create a font that would be extremely readable in small sizes.
Other People Are Reading
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A Font For Readability
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The Times of London charged Stanley Morison and the Monotype Corporation with creating a font that readers could count on day in and day out to bring them the news of the day. The Times font, birthed in 1931, caught on globally and is used in most newspapers.
Serif vs. Sans Serif
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The designers determined that a "serif" typeface would serve readers better than a "sans serif" one, especially when used in newspaper columns, in which the type size is oftentimes 10 point or smaller. Serif fonts have small "extenders" at the end of their linestrokes. Experts believe these small extensions help guide readers from letter to letter.
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Most Bang for the Buck
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In newspapers, every word costs money to print, and the more a publisher can shove into a column of print, the more he or she can afford to print. The Times font was designed to cram in the maximum amount of words within the smallest amount of space.
Different Versions
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Linotype, the company that holds the copyright on the original Times typeface, offers several different versions of the typeface, including the original font, now called Times New Roman, and other versions, including Times Universal and Times Eighteen, which is designed especially for larger sizes.
Enduring Throughout the Years
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Even as newspapers become increasingly modern, with large, flashy graphics and attention-grabbing design, the Times font still continues to be found in the body copy of most newspaper columns, and a version of it is usually the default font in many electronic word-processing programs.
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References
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