What’s the Big Deal about Sans Serif Fonts?

by Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

As long as I’ve been blogging, I’ve heard the warning, “Never use anything but a sans serif font on your blog.”

I’d nod my head and look solemn, because, apparently, the use of sans serif fonts is a serious thing. Inside, I’m clueless. What in the world is a sans serif font? And, horror of horrors, is there such a thing as a serif font? Dare I even ask?

My ignorance finally hit a tipping point and pushed me over the edge to discovery. While you may have tucked this bit of information away long ago, there might be someone else out there as clueless as I am. So here’s what I’ve learned. Perhaps, in a single blog post, I’ll put the Sans Serif mystery to rest forever.

Question 1: What is a serif?

A serif is, for lack of a better term, a small hook or line at the end of a letter. Here’s an example of the serif font Georgia, complete with serifs at the edges of each letter.

Times New Roman is also a serif font. See the little hooks? See the pointy edges?

Question 2: What is sans serif?

Sans means “without.” Remember Shakespeare’s “My love for thee is sound, sans crack or flaw”? Or how your favorite vegetarian orders her omelet—“Sans bacon”? So a sans serif font is a font without the extra lines or serifs at the end of letters.

Some of the most common sans serif fonts are: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, and Verdana.

Question 3: So what’s the big deal?

Buildablog website, in its article, “What’sthe Best Font for Your Blog or Website?”, tells us, “Some monitors don’t display these little hooks (serifs) very well and they can become blurred or undistinguishable, particularly if the monitor has a low resolution.”

Question 4: Then why do most submission guides for publishing houses and magazines request submissions in Times New Roman?

Unlike computer monitors, printers do a great job of reproducing the little serifs. It’s safe to use them in any online documents that are intended for downloading and printing.

One of the clearest examples of the conflict between serif and sans serif fonts took place in, of all places, Microsoft. In 2007, the company replaced the serif font, Times New Roman, with the sans serif font, Calibri, in its popular word processing software, Microsoft Office 2007.

When asked why the company decided to make the change, Joe Friend, Microsoft Senior Programmer, said, “We believed that more and more documents would never be printed but would solely be consumed on a digital device. To support digital consumption the new fonts were created to improve screen readability.”

So there you have it—mystery solved. When composing for primarily online readership, use a sans serif font like Arial, Impact, MS Sans Serif, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, or Lucida Sans. When writing a piece intended for downloading and printing, use the classic serif font, Times New Roman.

With this mystery under my belt, I’m on to one requiring even more in-depth investigative reporting. Next time I hope to answer the question, Why do I always write better with chocolate?

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What's the big deal about sans serif fonts - @LoriHatcher2 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)