My Secret to Setting a Balanced Block of Copy

Michael Stinson - October 1, 2015

Not all body copy is created equal, but the way it’s typeset should be clean and easy to read.
Reading copy is most effectively set with medium line lengths, even horizontal rhythm and large-
enough x-height so that it’s inviting to most audiences.
Some software programs automate fully justified boxes of copy, but you end up with rivers large enough
to swim through. How does one set a box with even spacing?
To ensure my justified copy is balanced on the page, easy to scan and enjoyable to read, I use a personal
recipe that I've developed and used for over 15 years, translated from the approaches I learned in
phototypesetting. It starts with some basic settings in InDesign. I turn on hyphenation, adjust optical
margin alignment, modify word and letter spacing, glyph scaling, and change the default composer.
BONUS BELOW: Download a step-by-step checklist and watch a video detailing how to balance the block
of copy.

Hyphenation palette InDesign

Hyphenation (Type & Tables > Paragraph Palette > Hyphenation)

Turning on hyphenation creates smoother rags. Making the eye jump back and forth at the end of each
line labors the reader. So turning on hyphenation helps to give the reader an expected place of return
after each line. I like to hyphenate after the first 4 letters and before the last 3, because two is difficult to
read (think how confused you'd be when reading a ‘be-’ at the end or an ‘ly’ at the beginning of a line).
You can also play with the spacing vs. hyphens slider for maximum effect.

Story palette InDesign typesetting

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Optical Margin Alignment (Type & Tables > Story)
Turning this on allows me to hang my punctuation. Beginning a line indented with punctuation such as a
left quote or ellipsis is redundant. So to hang quotes and average out the left margin, turn on the Optical
Margin Alignment on the Story palette.

Justification palette InDesign

Glyph Scaling (Type & Tables > Paragraph Palette > Justification)
This range allows a little flexibility in the way the glyphs proportionally scale. Newspaper printers
sometimes had a slightly narrower set of type and slightly wider set of type in order to fit more content
where needed. My preferred range is within 98% and 102%, so slight the human eye can hardly detect.

Word & Letter Spacing (Type & Tables > Paragraph Palette > Justification)
These settings automatically adjust the overall spacing between letters and words. The defaults in
InDesign are too generous for my taste, so I have my own that perform better. However these are still the
starting place since it depends on the typeface.

Composer (Type & Tables > Paragraph Palette > Justification)

Stay with the Adobe Paragraph Composer. This changes how InDesign handles composition. As you type
or edit a paragraph, InDesign adjusts the line breaks a paragraph at a time, which explains why you may
notice text reflowing above the line you are editing.
Be sure to click on preview to see how your type is looking. Start with these settings and adjust for your
chosen typeface.
So that's it. Of course different typefaces are different sizes and you will have to adjust depending on the
format of your copy, but start with these settings, change optically and manually massage the copy until it
is balanced.
I'd love to know how these settings are working for you, or if you have any other settings that might help to
help finesse the type moreso. Please comment below with your thoughts and any other adjustments you
have found to make your copy look and read well. Or if you know of someone who might benefit from
knowing how to do this, please share it with them.

https://type-ed.com/resources/rag-right/2015/10/01/secret-setting-balanced-block-copy

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