Line length

The block width is the length of a line and is therefore also referred to as line length. It is measured in either millimeters or typographic points and depends on the size of the font.

In addition, the set width based on the relevant text and book style. If the text is purely informative reading aligned (eg lexicons ), the length of each line should not be too long. For short lines, however, lead to frequent and unpleasant word division and irritating skips.

Changing the line length

The block width can be influenced by two different measures.

On the one hand can be achieved by increasing the word spacing, the full line length. This process is referred to as expelling, and is used in the block set. The distances of each letter can be enlarged by letter spacing.

Conversely, a reduction in the spaces between words is also possible. This method is called insertion into typographic jargon.