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Eric Ladner · 05-21-2011, 02:43 PM

I was recently looking for a quotation in an old, frequently re-read book - the American Norton 1990 paperback of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander - and was suddenly struck by something that didn't look right: the leading on page 119 is visibly tighter than on page 118. I measure 118 (and all the other pages I've spot checked) as 12 points, and 119 as 11.

How can this have occurred in modern book publishing? I don't know how Norton was setting type in 1990 (or William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd in 1970, the original publication), but they surely weren't hand-setting it!

05-21-2011, 02:43 PM	#1
Eric Ladner Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 139	Leading discrepancies in modern books I was recently looking for a quotation in an old, frequently re-read book - the American Norton 1990 paperback of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander - and was suddenly struck by something that didn't look right: the leading on page 119 is visibly tighter than on page 118. I measure 118 (and all the other pages I've spot checked) as 12 points, and 119 as 11. How can this have occurred in modern book publishing? I don't know how Norton was setting type in 1990 (or William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd in 1970, the original publication), but they surely weren't hand-setting it! Attached Thumbnails

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