Q. How can I get the best result when setting justified text? My boss told me to use tracking to fix badly spaced lines, but I was taught that this is a no-no.

A. You are right to question the use of tracking in justified settings, but let’s look at the big picture before addressing the details.

You justify type by adjusting the space between words and letters, and in some cases, by adjusting the glyphs themselves. The objective of good justification is to achieve even color and texture (similar to unjustified text); to avoid very tight or very open lines that interrupt the texture; and to prevent rivers of white space.

Factors affecting justification are the column width, type size, and width of the typeface used -- all of which contribute to the average number of characters per line, which is the most important factor in how justified text will look.

Having said that, I don’t advise justifying type unless the above factors result in even color and texture.

If you must justify type on a too narrow width, play around with the settings in the software application's justification palette to see if you can get a better result. There is no one solution for everyone, as results depend on the specs of your type, the actual text (text with shorter words will justify better than text with very long words), and your preferred hyphenation settings. Use trial and error, keep a record of your findings for different layouts, and change the defaults as need be.

A narrow column width (left) often results in justified text with lots of holes and rivers of white space. A wider setting (right), while not perfect, improves the color and the texture. Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, set in TypeCulture Expo Sans.

Sometimes adjusting the width of the text box ever so slightly will do the trick, as will changing the point size by a couple of tenths. If you're using Adobe InDesign, make sure to select Paragraph Composer, as that will help justified text. Although some people swear that the judicious use of tracking (up to 3 units in ID or 15 units in Quark) and glyph scaling (up to 2%) work wonders to improve really bad lines, I don’t endorse any method that intentionally alters the typeface. However, if you find yourself in an impossible situation, use your judgment and do whatever you need to do (in moderation, of course!) to create the best result, even if it means editing the text.

What's your experience with justified text? Do you have a justification setting that works like a charm, or any tips or tricks that have gotten you out of a jam? Post your comments here!

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