The first practical mechanical typewriter was developed in 1867 by Christopher Latham Sholes and his partners in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Early problems with keys that jammed led to the development by one of Sholes business partners of the QWERTY keyboard. By moving commonly-used keys into odd positions, manufacturers could help typists avoid locking up these early mechanisms that struck letters on paper.

But the typewriter quickly undid some key practices developed by typesetters, practices that are maintained in typesetting until this day for books, magazines, newspapers and other commercially printed materials. Typesetting is the process by which words are arranged for use on a printing press. Typesetters follow rules about how long a line of type should run, how big or tall types should be, and how much spaced should be left between lines and paragraphs.

Several typesetting practices, however, went by the wayside due to typewriters. To this day, these practices continue on the computer, despite the capabilities of most word processors to use typesetting standards.

Extra Spaces

Typesetters know that a little extra space is needed to set the next word apart following a period at the end of a sentence. This spacing is more than a normal space between two words, typically running around 1 ½ spaces. On the typewriter, however, the practice of using two spaces made up for the typewriter’s inability to produce partial spaces. Most people using a keyboard have been trained to use two spaces after a period, even if they were trained on a computer and not a typewriter. In the age of the word processor, this has become unnecessary. Our printers don’t require it, and our software can create fractional spaces. If left alone by our word processor when you make them, the spell checker may find them and mark them as incorrect. You can set Microsoft Word to check for extra spaces for you.

Another double-key holdover from typewriters is double-spaced paragraphs. Typographically, the best paragraph spacing is equal to one-half the height of the line height. Again, since a typewriter can’t do half-lines, the practice was adapted to enter two returns. The practice continues in modern word processors, at least until you try to put extra returns in bulleted or number text. The solution is to set space below each paragraph to one-half your type size. In Word, choose Format/Styles and Formatting, the choose Normal (if this is the paragraph style you’re using), then Modify/Format/Paragraph and set the Spacing After for each paragraph. If you’re using 12 point type, set the Spacing After to 6 points. Type geeks will know that’s not exactly right, but it offers a better appearance than a typewriter’s double-chunk.

Two other peccadilloes are commonly handled well by word processors. Maybe you didn’t know it, but there are two different types of quotation marks. The open-quotes start at the bottom and curl up (“) to start a quoted passage, and the close-quotes start at the top and curl down (”). The same holds true for single quotation marks, with the apostrophe mimicking the single-close-quote. The typewriter’s generic straight quotes made life easier for decades of typists, but break the flow of a nice Times Roman page. Leave the straight quotes to the mathematicians and GPS users.

This last one is for advanced users only. Dashes come is several sizes when set in type. When used to separate a thought in a sentence, an em dash – a dash the width of the letter “m” – is used. On the typewriter, two regular dashes feebly fill in. Some word processors will substitute an em dash is you type a space followed by two dashes followed by a space.

Why Worry?

Beyond proving that every profession has its “geeks,” careful attention to these typographic elements can make your documents appear more finished, cleaner and more professional. Your homemade greetings cards will look a little more store-bought. And, who know, your cleaner resume by help you land your dream job.