October 16, 2006

• OK, well I realized that I can do the all-caps commands in a different typeface like Monospace, but even so, I'm still having trouble picking an appropriate typeface for technical documentation.
• I'm a Bookman fan myself. I always considered it more readable than other serif fonts for text AND columns of numbers (I once worked in Accounts Payable and converted the whole department's invoice and letter formats to MS Bookman Old Style with no complaints)
• Yeah, I have to say Bookman doesn't look all that bad, though at first glance I thought it was a bit bubbly-looking. I think I'll use it unless another good font gets recommended.
• When in doubt, use Helvetica Frutiger. *bows*
• I absolutely love Palatino but there is a cult of vehemous Palatino-haters that say it's a bad font to use. Sometimes I use Garamond to appease them but Garamond lacks the subtly charm of Palatino. Monospace fonts for technical text is key. I think there is a Lucida derivative that is monospace and looks quite nice. Plus it's free.
• I use the Bookman quite a bit myself. Book Antiqua is nice, too.
• In the world of free fonts, I find Bitstream Vera is quite useful because it includes variably spaced sans-serif and serif faces and a monospace sans-serif in several weights. And, since it's TrueType, it works on just about anything.
• You might try a sans-serif with a slight stress, like Optima. The stress makes them easier on the eyes, but it should look good in all caps as well. Personally, I'm a fan of Trebuchet, but that might not work for what you're doing.
• Bookman is great but you may want to consider Verdana for this.
• I love Garamond in small caps, but not in regular caps. However, it's more of a designy thing than an information thing. (I just like how Garamond looks in smallcaps. Also in lowercase italics.) Is there any way you can simply avoid the all-caps? If not, I guess I would also recommend Bookman... or the Lucida monospace font that people would expect to see commands written in anyway. Good luck - tell us how it turned out! :)
• For all your font needs, visit Acid Fonts.
• The classic LaTeX font Computer Modern does well for technical stuff, along with a monospace for those commands. I also frequently use Minion for longer stuff, since it's easy on the eyes and really good looking (especially italics).
• Why am I the first one to have to say what the hell is wrong with Comic Sans?
• Everything, GramMa. It's a typeface that implies amateurishness, childishness, and lack of sophistication. Great for an ice cream menu, but not much else... It really doesn't give much of a sense of gravitas when you see it on a government or informational website... It's best avoided.
• Another recommendation for Bitstream Vera Monospace. It's nice and legible, and doesn't stand out from variable width fonts quite as badly as some monospaces. For the serif face, I always liked Garamond and Berling Antiqua, but I'm not sure how they'd work for pages and pages of documentation.
• Comic Sans wouldn't be annoying at all, if it wasn;t used so dmn much, and in so many inappropriate settings. It's kinda like flip-flops. They're OK for certain occasions, but when you see 1,000 people lining up for their college graduation and 3/4 of them are wearing brightly-colored plastic flip-flops with their caps and gowns, it starts to get ridiculous.
• If you're writing this paper for publication with any of the several journal publishers, you will not have a choice of fonts anyway. If it's self-published, just go with defaults such as Times and Courier (\usepackage{txfonts}). Leave typographic wankery for those who will appreciate it, which scientists/engineers generally won't.
• for monospace in tech pubs, courier or courier new are fairly standard. lucida console is also quite clear.
• [Comic Sans is] Great for an ice cream menu, but not much else... It really doesn't give much of a sense of gravitas when you see it on a government or informational website... It's best avoided. Tell me about it. I bought a short instructional booklet/audio CD set of a slightly technical nature and was dismayed to find the booklet in Comic Sans. At 70USD I was like, WTF? I tend to use two different fonts when writing technical items. One font for the text, and another mono-space for program listings or commands.
• The tech manual for my new insulin pump was in Comic Sans. I half expected the "i" in "insulin" to be dotted with a smiley face.
• Comic Sans--It really doesn't give much of a sense of gravitas when you see it on a government or informational website... Gravitas--on a government website? Can I rest my point? I think Comic Sans should be required on gummint websites. That way we can be amused as well as astonished at the bushshit. Why am I the first one to have to say what the hell is wrong with Comic Sans? posted by BlueHorse Sorry Queso, forgot the flippin' tags.
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