What font are you using in LibreOffice
I'm using "Noto Serif" in LibreOffice Writer. But, it looks a bit crowded. I prefer "Times Roman" style, at least for my resume and cover letter. What font are you using in LibreOffice Writer?
On 2025-08-14 15:05, William Park via Talk wrote:
I'm using "Noto Serif" in LibreOffice Writer. But, it looks a bit crowded. I prefer "Times Roman" style, at least for my resume and cover letter.
What font are you using in LibreOffice Writer?
The default font being selected in my copy of LibreOffice is Liberation Serif 12pt. Depending on what I'm doing I may use Times New Roman for text body and Helvetica or Arial for headers. I have a lot of fonts from which I can choose on my machine. I added a set of fonts from an old WordPerfect CD set I have plus some others I obtained over time. -- Cheers! Kevin. https://www.patreon.com/KevinCozens | "Nerds make the shiny things that | distract the mouth-breathers, and Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172 | that's why we're powerful" #include <disclaimer/favourite> | --Chris Hardwick
From: William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org>
I'm using "Noto Serif" in LibreOffice Writer. But, it looks a bit crowded. I prefer "Times Roman" style, at least for my resume and cover letter.
What font are you using in LibreOffice Writer?
[Impractical thoughts prompted by the question.] It's been a long time since I paid much attention to fonts. Mostly because stuff I create is fontless. One big trouble in the beginning was getting open source fonts. I'm talking 1970s when Bill Reeves and others managed to get TROFF going on a Varian plotter. Eventually, it was decided that US law (who cares about others) didn't allow copyright protection on fonts but did allow trademark protection on their names. That's why Apple called their Helvetica "Geneva", for example. So I'm surprised to wake up and find Times Roman in open source software. Times New Roman is the original trademarked name (Monotype). Times Roman is the Linotype knock-off. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_New_Roman> Reading that wikipedia article gives hints about how deeply aesthetic, perceptual, and rendering issues were considered. There is a certain worship of the Old School type designers. Any quick look at Computer Modern font will show that they were onto some things that Knuth was not. (I also learned that the Times is now a tabloid, since 2004! I haven't cared about the Times since it deteriorated under Murdoch in the 1980s.)
I use Carlito which is similar to MS's Calibri as my default. I've done some mapping of fonts and downloaded some MS fonts that are now available so when I open a Word doc, it converts it as best it can. On Fri, Aug 15, 2025 at 11:52 AM D. Hugh Redelmeier via Talk < talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
From: William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org>
I'm using "Noto Serif" in LibreOffice Writer. But, it looks a bit crowded. I prefer "Times Roman" style, at least for my resume and cover letter.
What font are you using in LibreOffice Writer?
[Impractical thoughts prompted by the question.]
It's been a long time since I paid much attention to fonts. Mostly because stuff I create is fontless.
One big trouble in the beginning was getting open source fonts. I'm talking 1970s when Bill Reeves and others managed to get TROFF going on a Varian plotter.
Eventually, it was decided that US law (who cares about others) didn't allow copyright protection on fonts but did allow trademark protection on their names. That's why Apple called their Helvetica "Geneva", for example.
So I'm surprised to wake up and find Times Roman in open source software. Times New Roman is the original trademarked name (Monotype). Times Roman is the Linotype knock-off. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_New_Roman>
Reading that wikipedia article gives hints about how deeply aesthetic, perceptual, and rendering issues were considered. There is a certain worship of the Old School type designers. Any quick look at Computer Modern font will show that they were onto some things that Knuth was not.
(I also learned that the Times is now a tabloid, since 2004! I haven't cared about the Times since it deteriorated under Murdoch in the 1980s.) ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/53YAK6F...
D. Hugh Redelmeier via Talk said on Fri, 15 Aug 2025 11:51:25 -0400 (EDT)
Eventually, it was decided that US law (who cares about others) didn't allow copyright protection on fonts but did allow trademark protection on their names. That's why Apple called their Helvetica "Geneva", for example.
Just speaking for myself as a font user, trademarks but no copyright sounds good to me. If I had worked long and hard creating a wonderful font, I'd probably feel very differently, but the trademark but no copyright, in the words of Rick Hunter, "works for me!"
Reading that wikipedia article gives hints about how deeply aesthetic, perceptual, and rendering issues were considered. There is a certain worship of the Old School type designers. Any quick look at Computer Modern font will show that they were onto some things that Knuth was not.
If I were truly interested in deep aesthetics, I'd buy myself a caligrographed book from the early middle ages, before printing presses were invented. But my prioritiy isn't deep aesthetics. To me, it's all about readability. Most of the books I publish use Tex-Gyre-Schola, which is a knockoff of Century Schoolbook. Century Schoolbook was created for quick, glancible readability by eight year olds. And that quick, glancible readability works wonders for quick assimilation and efficient committment to memory of material for adults, even very smart ones, and even ones with less than perfect vision. In my opinion, if it's being printed to paper, Century Schoolbook is by far the best, even if it's meant for a second grader. And there's a special place in hell for these guys who publish in thin, reedy fonts requiring 20/20 vision to assimilate quickly. Century Schoolbook works for viewing book PDFs in a PDF reader. It's a little bolder than one might like, but it works just fine, even for people with lousy vision. When it comes to web pages, I usually don't declare a typeface. Another way of saying this is I don't second guess my visitor: His browser is set for the typeface and size he wants, I deliver text, and his browser renders it in his preferred typeface and size. This philosophy may or may not work with ePubs read by ePub readers. SteveT Steve Litt http://444domains.com
It came down to - Liberation Serif -- more square'ish than Times New Roman - Linux Libertine -- taller strokes than Liberation Serif I chose Liberation Serif. On 2025-08-14 15:05, William Park via Talk wrote:
I'm using "Noto Serif" in LibreOffice Writer. But, it looks a bit crowded. I prefer "Times Roman" style, at least for my resume and cover letter.
What font are you using in LibreOffice Writer? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/ talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/IH5NP6MCQDUNGRPSFQ4VQNN3OWP4EDSS/
In a previous life one of my main functions was publication design; fonts are important to me. There are two font families that I usually install on all my systems: - For maximum legibility, Lexend <https://www.lexend.com/>. If the reading speed of your users is more important to you than fashion statements, this family is worth considering. It's the result of many years of research. - For maximal internationalization, Noto <https://fonts.google.com/noto>. Rather than need separate fonts for Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, etc Google's Noto has more Unicode language scripts embedded than any other in a single font. Plus a few others of note: - For a change of pace, Comic Neue <https://theconversation.com/is-comic-neue-the-new-comic-sans-sans-the-comedy-25697> . Started as a Kickstarter project <https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/805738475/comic-neue>, this font corrects the typographical shortcomings of Comic Sans while keeping its (IMO underrated) casual character. - For a distinctly FOSS character, Ubuntu. <https://github.com/canonical/Ubuntu-Sans-fonts> While the Liberation font family was funded by Red Hat, the Ubuntu font was supported by -- surprise! -- Canonical and has been a part of the Ubuntu distro since 10.10. All of the above are available at Google Fonts or the links provided above -- unlike the Liberation family, which ironically is not available that way because of licensing issues(*). (Those wanting freely-available equivalents to Liberation are encouraged to check out the Apache-licensed Croscore fonts <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croscore_fonts> used in ChromeOS. (*) Liberation fronts are released under the GPL. One interpretation suggests that any document embedding a GPL font is itself subject to the GPL. That posed a possible risk that have inhibited its use, and likely explains why these fonts are not available on Google Fonts. Most open source fonts use either the Apache or the SIL license. On Thu, Aug 14, 2025 at 3:05 PM William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
I'm using "Noto Serif" in LibreOffice Writer. But, it looks a bit crowded. I prefer "Times Roman" style, at least for my resume and cover letter.
What font are you using in LibreOffice Writer? ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/IH5NP6M...
-- Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56
On 2025-08-17 02:09, Evan Leibovitch wrote:
In a previous life one of my main functions was publication design; fonts are important to me.
There are two font families that I usually install on all my systems:
* For maximum legibility, Lexend <https://www.lexend.com/>. If the reading speed of your users is more important to you than fashion statements, this family is worth considering. It's the result of many years of research.
They need to do more research! Lexend font breaks my rhythm. It forces me to read letters, to check the spelling. With Times New Roman, I read the whole word, multiple words (if short), or phrase in one shot. If it looks right, then spelling is probably right. Maybe, because I'm so used to Times family...
* For maximal internationalization, Noto <https://fonts.google.com/noto>. Rather than need separate fonts for Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, etc Google's Noto has more Unicode language scripts embedded than any other in a single font.
Plus a few others of note:
* For a change of pace, Comic Neue <https://theconversation.com/is- comic-neue-the-new-comic-sans-sans-the-comedy-25697>. Started as a Kickstarter project <https://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/805738475/comic-neue>, this font corrects the typographical shortcomings of Comic Sans while keeping its (IMO underrated) casual character.
* For a distinctly FOSS character, Ubuntu. <https://github.com/ canonical/Ubuntu-Sans-fonts> While the Liberation font family was funded by Red Hat, the Ubuntu font was supported by -- surprise! -- Canonical and has been a part of the Ubuntu distro since 10.10.
All of the above are available at Google Fonts or the links provided above -- unlike the Liberation family, which ironically is not available that way because of licensing issues(*). (Those wanting freely-available equivalents to Liberation are encouraged to check out the Apache- licensed Croscore fonts <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croscore_fonts> used in ChromeOS.
(*) Liberation fronts are released under the GPL. One interpretation suggests that any document embedding a GPL font is itself subject to the GPL. That posed a possible risk that have inhibited its use, and likely explains why these fonts are not available on Google Fonts. Most open source fonts use either the Apache or the SIL license.
I just found out Tinos and Liberation Serif are identical, at least to my eye. Flipping back and forth, no change to my document.
If you have a slightly older bitmap screen, non-serif fonts like this are valuable. A bunch of typesetters I worked for with used a low-kerning sans-serif font for proofing on computer screens. They ensured it had the same spacing as their production serif font. It looked icky. When they did my wedding announcement, I thought they was going to look terrible. Instead, the cards came off the printer looking absolutely /lovely/. However, I now have a fairly high bit density screen on both my laptop and my main home screen. On it, well-kerned serif fonts don't just look good, they give me a reading speed just below that of my e-ink Kobo. And yes, reading speed is the usual metric, just not the only one. Other good ones are * Word recognition speed - as distinct from reading speed, focuses on word-level processing * Error rates - how often readers misread text * Eye strain measurements - fatigue levels during extended reading * Comprehension scores - understanding and retention of content * Scanning efficiency - how quickly readers can locate specific information --dave On 8/17/25 16:14, William Park via Talk wrote:
On 2025-08-17 02:09, Evan Leibovitch wrote:
In a previous life one of my main functions was publication design; fonts are important to me.
There are two font families that I usually install on all my systems:
* For maximum legibility, Lexend <https://www.lexend.com/>. If the reading speed of your users is more important to you than fashion statements, this family is worth considering. It's the result of many years of research.
They need to do more research! Lexend font breaks my rhythm. It forces me to read letters, to check the spelling. With Times New Roman, I read the whole word, multiple words (if short), or phrase in one shot. If it looks right, then spelling is probably right. Maybe, because I'm so used to Times family...
* For maximal internationalization, Noto <https://fonts.google.com/noto>. Rather than need separate fonts for Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, etc Google's Noto has more Unicode language scripts embedded than any other in a single font.
Plus a few others of note:
* For a change of pace, Comic Neue <https://theconversation.com/is- comic-neue-the-new-comic-sans-sans-the-comedy-25697>. Started as a Kickstarter project <https://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/805738475/comic-neue>, this font corrects the typographical shortcomings of Comic Sans while keeping its (IMO underrated) casual character.
* For a distinctly FOSS character, Ubuntu. <https://github.com/ canonical/Ubuntu-Sans-fonts> While the Liberation font family was funded by Red Hat, the Ubuntu font was supported by -- surprise! -- Canonical and has been a part of the Ubuntu distro since 10.10.
All of the above are available at Google Fonts or the links provided above -- unlike the Liberation family, which ironically is not available that way because of licensing issues(*). (Those wanting freely-available equivalents to Liberation are encouraged to check out the Apache- licensed Croscore fonts <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croscore_fonts> used in ChromeOS.
(*) Liberation fronts are released under the GPL. One interpretation suggests that any document embedding a GPL font is itself subject to the GPL. That posed a possible risk that have inhibited its use, and likely explains why these fonts are not available on Google Fonts. Most open source fonts use either the Apache or the SIL license.
I just found out Tinos and Liberation Serif are identical, at least to my eye. Flipping back and forth, no change to my document. ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/2KOH4W7...
-- David Collier-Brown, | Always do right. This will gratify System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest davecb@spamcop.net | -- Mark Twain
William Park via Talk said on Sun, 17 Aug 2025 16:14:55 -0400
They need to do more research! Lexend font breaks my rhythm. It forces me to read letters, to check the spelling. With Times New Roman, I read the whole word, multiple words (if short), or phrase in one shot. If it looks right, then spelling is probably right. Maybe, because I'm so used to Times family...
What's your opinion of Century Schoolbook (or TeX Gyre Schola)? SteveT Steve Litt http://444domains.com
Thank you! I couldn't find "Century Schoolbook" anywhere, but did find "TeX Gyre Schola" at Font Download. It has TeX'ish feel to it. On 2025-08-17 19:56, Steve Litt via Talk wrote:
William Park via Talk said on Sun, 17 Aug 2025 16:14:55 -0400
They need to do more research! Lexend font breaks my rhythm. It forces me to read letters, to check the spelling. With Times New Roman, I read the whole word, multiple words (if short), or phrase in one shot. If it looks right, then spelling is probably right. Maybe, because I'm so used to Times family...
What's your opinion of Century Schoolbook (or TeX Gyre Schola)?
SteveT
Steve Litt
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From: William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org>
Thank you! I couldn't find "Century Schoolbook" anywhere, but did find "TeX Gyre Schola" at Font Download. It has TeX'ish feel to it.
The history of the Century type family is interesting: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_type_family> Note: Century was the name of an important and popular US magazine <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_Magazine> When I learned to read, I was really puzzled by the "g" character in Century Schoolbook. I had to be told it was the same letter as the g I was used to.
participants (7)
-
D. Hugh Redelmeier -
David Collier-Brown -
Evan Leibovitch -
Kevin Cozens -
Samuel Kaharabata -
Steve Litt -
William Park