US bans time-honoured typeface (Foggy Bottom takes a stand!)

ABC News Online ^ | Jan 30, 2004 | AFP

[Akira]

In a sign that no matter is too small to affect international diplomacy, the US State Department has issued an edict banning its longtime standard typeface from all official correspondence and replacing it with a "more modern" font.

In an internal memorandum distributed on Wednesday, the department declared "Courier New 12" - the font and size decreed for US diplomatic documents for years - to be obsolete and unacceptable after February 1.

"In response to many requests and with a view to making our written work easier to read, we are moving to a new standard font: 'Times New Roman 14'," said the memorandum.

The new font "takes up almost exactly the same area on the page as Courier New 12, while offering a crisper, cleaner, more modern look," it said, adding that after February 1 "only Times New Roman 14 will be accepted."

"This applies to diplomatic notes," the memorandum said tersely.

There are only three exceptions to the draconian new typographical rules: telegrams, treaty materials prepared by the State Department's legal affairs office and documents drawn up for the president's signature, it said.

The memorandum offered no explanation for the exceptions, leaving foreign service officers to speculate as to whether the White House, US treaty partners and telegram readers are not yet able to handle the change.

[4mycountry]

Should be Courier on the last one. Sorry. ^^;

[4mycountry]

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

This is the Courier New Font. Out with the old.

This is the Times New Roman Font. In with the new.

I can't stand reading any font with serifs. I buy my books based on whether they're serif or sans serif.

[KarlInOhio]

First they came for Courier, but I didn't speak out because I didn't use Courier...

How soon will it be before Courier inspectors are searching through Foggy Bottom for illegal stockpiles of Selectric typewriter balls?

[CobaltBlue]

Times New Roman is what I use, too. 12 point, not 14. I actually prefer Garamond for readability but it's not as condensed.

[Condor51]

About time!
I'm sick of reading "Courier New 12".
I much prefer "Times New Roman 14"!

But my favorite is still City Blueprint.

Anyway, now that State has this problem solved, maybe they could look into how to stop Arab terrorists from getting visas?

[templar]

Wonder what font the edict was written in?

[Arthalion]

LOL! It may be humorous to see the State Department occupied with such menial tasks, but there are actually good reasons for this: Courier uses a single point line for the characters, while TNR used a two point line, making it much easier to read. TNR also has more consistent letter spacing and emphasized character flourishes making it easier to scan documents into a computer for editing.

So why the memo? So everyone will be on the same standard.

[Cicero]

Well, frankly, Courier went out with the mechanical typewriter, about 15 or 20 years ago. Times New Roman is the standard.

But it's a bit bizarre to decree that everyone should use font size 14 rather than 12. They will waste a lot of ink and paper--not that that is likely to bother federal bureaucrats.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Ironically, since they call it modern, it is based on the beautiful styles used by the Romans 2,000 years ago.

---

And developed by/for (or made famous by) the venerable London Times, as I understand.

[1Old Pro]

I always use Arial 14 when I want something to be easy to read.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Font sizes as measured in points (12, 14, etc.) don't translate to computer screens, since monitor sizes vary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is Courier New.

This is Times Roman.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looks to me as if they'll use more ink and less paper. Personally, I find Times Roman to be much more legible, particularly in long passages as one might encounter in bureaucratese.

Now, it's time for Free Republic to reconsider its fonts. Why not something conservative, like Old English Text?

[js1138]

Harry Potter is published in Garamond. I did a college yearbook thiry years ago in Garamond. I do believe it's the easiest to read. I think of it as fat Roman.

[Future Snake Eater]

LOL! WWCGEBD? Haven't seen him/her/it listed on FR for a looong time...

[CobaltBlue]

So that's one reason the Harry Potter books are so thick - I don't read them but the boys do, of course. Seems like they have heavy paper, as well. Which is nice, I am not complaining.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Wonder how much the research into this one cost...do they have a laboratory where they figure that if you drop various hard object onto your head that it will hurt...must send a memo about this brick we just tried...

Where do I sign up for one of these jobs...a union wage and a retirement plan to boot...yehaw

[G L Tirebiter]

I buy my books based on whether they're serif or sans serif.

Que serif, serif. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. Que serif, serif.

[js1138]

If you are going to ask nine year olds (and their parents) to read a 900 page book, the typesetting better be good.

[mrsmith]

Oh these radicals in the State Department!

Next they'll be allowing hemi-demi-semi-formal jackets at demi-semi-formal table-shape negotiation get-together luncheons!

[gridlock]

A 14 point font is really large. Too much wasted paper for my taste. Large fonts always look childish to me. I would only use a 14 point font if I had to write a two page paper, and only had enough material for a page and a half.

Telegraphs will still use an evenly-spaced font because they are still produced mechanically. The White House stuff will be subject to whatever the White House specifies. Treaty documents are probably produced in whatever type-face will make the right impression on the other side.