Generally, sans-serif fonts are not for large bodies of text in print, but instead are ideal for the internet. Sans-serif fonts are typically used for online work because they have a less complex shape and are easier to read at lower resolutions. On the same facet, sans-serif fonts are optimal for a cleaner appearance in places such as headers, titles, legends, or natural features. Serifs are widely used for historical information or on a historical map.Д«ooks produced for children are often printed with sans-serif text on account of teachers claiming that the simplicity of the letter shapes makes them more recognizable. Generally, serif fonts are utilized to create a more regimented block body of text, similar to those used in traditional printing. Therefore, serifed fonts are the overwhelming typeface choice for lengthy text printed in books, newspapers and magazines. Serif fonts are typically used in the body of printed works because the individual letters are distinct and easy to read.

For these reasons, when selecting typefaces it is important to keep in mind on which medium your type will be viewed most frequently. On the other hand, sans-serif typefaces are much easier to read when found on screens, such as in a blog post. Serif typefaces are known for helping a reader when found on printed material, such as a novel. The main, and often most important, is the ease of readability. Sans-serif fonts are the more modern of the two fonts.Д«oth styles of typeface have their advantages and disadvantages. Abrupt serif, as the name suggests, is squarer and more rigid and does not flow into the base letter form. Adnate serif is more organic and 'flowing' with the font and is commonly distinguished with its use of curves.

While there are numerous kinds of serif typefaces, there are two main types: adnate and abrupt. In fact, some cartographers, such as National Geographic, have designed their own proprietary typefaces to add a unique corporate feel to their maps.ДЇigure 1: Serif and Sans-serif typeface. That said, well-designed text faces are not necessarily boring, but can add a subtle aesthetic feel to text such as map labels. These are usually designed to be clean, and simple, and practical rather than fancy. Legibility is the main function of text type. Text typefaces are designed to be readable at small sizes in large blocks of printed material. These craftsmen created some of the first typefaces in history and paved the way for modern type foundries that design and distribute typefaces, usually as digitized fonts. Sorts were the small, square bits of metal that served as the 'stamps' that could be arranged on a composing stick and transferred to a form, which was inked and pressed into a sheet of paper or vellum. The matrix served as a cast for the creation of sorts. Craftsmen would first engrave a letter-punch, which was used to make a matrix. By the year 1500, many type foundries were in operation across Europe. The first movable-type printing press was invented in the fifteenth century by Johannes Gutenberg. Modern-day alphabets descend from capital letters Romans carved into stone, and later wrote on manuscripts. Letter style has evolved through the centuries, beginning with Roman times.

Sans serif typeface