You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



31-12-2022 10:23:57  #1


What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

What typewriter line spacing do you use, and on what typewriter, for personal letters?For appearance. . . or putting the most content on a page?Do you prefer "Elite" or "Pica"?Some mention that 1/2 line spacing is more available on European made typewriters. But, I'm not sure about that.Typewriter Talk ForumWhat line spacing do you use for personal letters?Does paper size matter?

Thank you

 

31-12-2022 12:15:27  #2


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

Hello Kalani, 

Interesting survey question. When I made the post you referenced it was interesting to learn more about line spacing. Personally I always use a 1½ line spacing for writing letters or anything I’m writing for myself. All my typewriters are either Olympias or Hermes except for an IBM Wheelwriter 10. They all have the the one and a half setting. To me single spacing looks condensed and not as pleasant to read. More space also gives me room to edit and make corrections if I’m re-typing it. I did have a S-C Coronet Electric for a while that only had 1-2-3 so I used 2. If I’m filling out a form that is asking for a lot of information in very little space I use Elite and single space.

For paper size I use Letter, A4, A5, B5 and some handmade papers. I make no distinction between whether the typeface is 10, 11, or 12 CPI unless the recipient were to mention it being hard to read. So far no one has commented other than to say how easy a typed page is to read. I used to write all my letters in cursive using a fountain pen but arthritic hands made that difficult. Now I write everything with my typewriters (except a birthday card I just sent my granddaughter.) I use the largest typeface I have for addressing envelopes and still use the 1½ linespacing. 

George

 

31-12-2022 15:25:52  #3


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

Hi Kalani

My answer to your question depends on several variables which include, but are not limited to:

Type size (pica, elite or other).
Type style (Roman, Italic, cursive, vertical cursive or other).
Typewriter design (fine tooth or coarse tooth line advance ratchet).
Whether you're typing for business or pleasure.
Eyesight of recipient if typing letters.
Your preference for how the typed page looks.

When it comes to paper size for personal letters, there are no set parameters. If typing business correspondence, letter (8½" x 9") or A4 are pretty well the industry standards. Sometimes when I'm in a goofy mood and use a typewriter with a 12" platen, I'll wind a sheet of 11" x 17" into the machine and type on that just for the fun of it. As for paper weight, the choice again is entirely yours. Is postal cost a factor for how many pages you put in an envelope?

When typing 6 cpi on an 11" x 17" page, triple spacing and 1½" margins looks proportionally correct. Generally though, when I'm choosing line spacing for a typed letter, here's what I usually use:

12 cpi standard typeface, single.
12 cpi italic or cursive, 1½ space.
11 cpi standard typeface, single.
10 cpi standard or Double Gothic typeface, 1½ space.
10 cpi cursive typeface, double space.

Many of my older typewriters have the coarse toothed line advance ratchet, and ½ line spaces are not an option, so it's single, double or triple. Single space on my 1936 Imperial Good Companion with 10 cpi does look a little crowded, but double space makes the page look too open and half empty to me. I recently received a letter typed 17 cpi and single spaced, the type was proportionally the same as 12 cpi typed 1½ line space. Hope this gives you a few ideas with which to work, and just use your imagination. All the best,

Sky


We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
 

31-12-2022 15:49:38  #4


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

I use single or 1.5 line spacing for letters regardless of the typeface or its size, and almost always use letter-sized paper (8.5 x 11 in. | 21.6 x 27.9 cm). The paper stock varies depending on who the letter is being sent to, and can be anything from onion skin to plain, bright copy paper.

For rough drafts double-spaced (or more) lines are a must. I need the room between line for editing and making it easier to type the revised text.  


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

31-12-2022 20:12:29  #5


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

fountainpensplus wrote:

Hello Kalani, 

Interesting survey question. When I made the post you referenced it was interesting to learn more about line spacing. Personally I always use a 1½ line spacing for writing letters or anything I’m writing for myself. All my typewriters are either Olympias or Hermes except for an IBM Wheelwriter 10. They all have the the one and a half setting. To me single spacing looks condensed and not as pleasant to read. More space also gives me room to edit and make corrections if I’m re-typing it. I did have a S-C Coronet Electric for a while that only had 1-2-3 so I used 2. If I’m filling out a form that is asking for a lot of information in very little space I use Elite and single space.

For paper size I use Letter, A4, A5, B5 and some handmade papers. I make no distinction between whether the typeface is 10, 11, or 12 CPI unless the recipient were to mention it being hard to read. So far no one has commented other than to say how easy a typed page is to read. I used to write all my letters in cursive using a fountain pen but arthritic hands made that difficult. Now I write everything with my typewriters (except a birthday card I just sent my granddaughter.) I use the largest typeface I have for addressing envelopes and still use the 1½ linespacing. 

George

Aloha George,
Thanks for the response and sharing tips.
My former Palmer Business Script with Fountain Pens is becoming more illegible over time, also due to arthritis and issues in my hands with age. So.. I've been using my vintage typewriters more and more.

I read somewhere that for personal letters, it was single space for a paragraph, then either 1-1/2 or 2 spaces between paragraphs. But, that was very old, from before computers and word processors. I don't know if that applies now for personal letters.

What do you think?

Mahalo
k

     Thread Starter
 

31-12-2022 23:05:29  #6


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

I have plenty of American-made typewriters with half-line spacing.  In fact, I have a pair of nearly identical Smith-Corona Classic 12's - only a year apart - one has 1, 1 1/2, 2 line spacing while the other has 1, 2, 3 line spacing.

I almost never use the half-line spacing.  It doesn't look proportional to me, especially with elite type.  Perhaps with a script typeface that has true descenders, but I don't have any of those (yet) to try.

For creative writing drafts, I always double space.  But you asked about personal correspondence - I don't have a hard and fast rule for that.  Letter-writing etiquette has changed several times over the years.  I'm not sure if there *are* any rules (or guidelines) at the present time.  In the "old days", here in the US, letters were usually written on half-sized sheets (5.5" x 8.5" or 6" x 9") - at least in my experience.  I seem to remember a mix of single or double spacing, whether hand-written or typed.  It seems that the longer the letter, the more likely it was to be single spaced.  Shorter notes were often double spaced.  I guess I unconsciously follow those same guidelines still, though I do use full size sheets more often than not.  It's difficult to find good stationery in smaller sizes anymore...

 

01-1-2023 21:24:32  #7


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

When I was writing letters by hand my nibs of choice were at least a medium and mostly broad along with some cursive italics. I expected my pens to put some ink on the paper. I also wrote using an 8mm line template under the page. If it was lined paper I’d skip a line. It drove me crazy then and now to have the descenders interfering with the words in the next line. It took a while but I learned that if I slowed down and spaced the letters just a bit it was way more readable. All of my penpals are still writing by hand and with fountain pens. (I have some type-pals but that’s in just the last year.) Some of their handwriting I really have to work to read. When I began typing my letters it just seemed most natural adding some spacing. I doubt that there are any hard, fast rules in formatting a letter and less so for a personal letter. With so much electronic communication getting a personal letter in the mail, whether handwritten or typed, is a special event. I and all my correspondents use indented paragraphs. 

I’ll add that when I was handwriting and doing it slow enough to be fully legible there was no way I could keep up with my thoughts. Let’s just say that caused some strange sentences at times. I’m not a fast typer but it’s much faster than handwriting and my hand doesn’t ache at the end of a paragraph, let alone the page. 

I think it’s a personal letter so you’re allowed to make it personal.

George

 

02-1-2023 11:36:12  #8


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

Aloha George,
Huge thanks for great input. I'm a long time member of the "Fountain Network Forum" and have been corresponding that way for a long time. Fountain pens and various Rodia and other papers. But, typewritten text slowly took over content, so I'm learning that various vintage typewriters have different looks and especially whether "pica" or "elite" and thinking about what makes for readibility, nice presentation, etc.
Of course, most all of my letters are more "packages of various content including photographs" so the typewriter part is just part of the whole but still so important.
Thanks again.
Do you have more thoughts and tips?
k

fountainpensplus wrote:

When I was writing letters by hand my nibs of choice were at least a medium and mostly broad along with some cursive italics. I expected my pens to put some ink on the paper. I also wrote using an 8mm line template under the page. If it was lined paper I’d skip a line. It drove me crazy then and now to have the descenders interfering with the words in the next line. It took a while but I learned that if I slowed down and spaced the letters just a bit it was way more readable. All of my penpals are still writing by hand and with fountain pens. (I have some type-pals but that’s in just the last year.) Some of their handwriting I really have to work to read. When I began typing my letters it just seemed most natural adding some spacing. I doubt that there are any hard, fast rules in formatting a letter and less so for a personal letter. With so much electronic communication getting a personal letter in the mail, whether handwritten or typed, is a special event. I and all my correspondents use indented paragraphs. 

I’ll add that when I was handwriting and doing it slow enough to be fully legible there was no way I could keep up with my thoughts. Let’s just say that caused some strange sentences at times. I’m not a fast typer but it’s much faster than handwriting and my hand doesn’t ache at the end of a paragraph, let alone the page. 

I think it’s a personal letter so you’re allowed to make it personal.

George

 

     Thread Starter
 

02-1-2023 13:06:41  #9


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

Kalani wrote:

Do you have more thoughts and tips?
k
 

Hello Kalani,

I think as you've noted the variety of writing tools is one aspect I too find attractive. Here in Eugene there are no pen/stationery nor typewriter shops. With only online shopping as an option I spent more money that I care to think about finding fountain pens that I could always want to write with. The last couple of years I chose pens made only out of 'natural' materials rather than 'exotic resin.' The cost of a shaped piece of plastic tipped with even a steel nib can be more than most of my typewriters. Yet when I first began shopping for a typewriter that would be a machine I loved to write with they seemed high priced. Folks were, and still are, trying to sell something that they found for crazy prices. Now there is a premium added to buying a typewriter with other than standard typeface. Sadly for those of us aficionados of typewriters we can't go to a typewriter shop and order a factory fresh, custom machine. Someday I hope to find a script machine that speaks to me at a price I want to pay. My current grail machine is to find a Hermes Ambassador that doesn't need to be shipped and I can try before I buy.

George

 

19-1-2023 08:28:10  #10


Re: What typewriter line spacing and on what typewriter, for letters?

Regarding line spacing and the indicators next to the line spacing selector, on all three Olivetti Lettera 22s I’ve owned the selector positions were marked “1,2,3” but were actually 1, 1.5 and 2. The same with my Studio 44 and Olivetti-Underwood 21. And just yesterday evening I noticed my Groma Kolibri is also marked “1,2” but is actually 1 and 1.5. 

So I’ve taken to thinking of these markings as “setting position 1” and “setting position 2” rather than the literal line spacing themselves.

 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum