Background areas between letters and words should appear

approximately equal, and words should be clearly separated by a

space equal to the height of the lettering. Only when special
emphasis is necessary should the lettering be underlined. Also, it is
not desirable to vary the size of the lettering according to the size of
the drawing except when a drawing is to be reduced in reproduction.
To meet design or space requirements, letters may be
narrower and spaced closer together. In this case, they are called
compressed or condensed letters. If the letters are wider than
normal, they are referred to as extended letters. Letters also vary as
to thickness of the stems or strokes. Letter shaving very thin stems
are called lightface, while those having heavy stems are called bold
face.
In any style of lettering, uniformity is essential. Uniformity in
height, proportion, inclination, strength of lines, spacing of letters,
and spacing of words ensures a pleasing appearance.
Uniformity in spacing of letters is a matter of equalizing spaces
by eye. The background areas between letters, not the distances
between them, should be approximately equal. Space words well
apart, but space letters closely within words. Make the spaces
between words approximately equal to a capital O.
Uniformity in height and inclination is promoted by the use of
light guide lines. As guide in lettering, extremely light horizontal
lines are necessary to regulate the height of letters. In addition, light
vertical or inclined lines are needed to keep the letters uniformly
vertical or inclined. A simple method of spacing horizontal guidelines
is to use a scale or bow dividers. Another convenient instrument for
drawing guide lines for lettering, dimension figures and section lines
are the lettering triangle.
Uniformity in strength of lines can only be obtained by the
skilled use of properly selected pencils and pens. Either pencils or
pens can be used in lettering. Pencil letters are best made with a
medium-soft lead with a conical point or with a suitable thin-lead
mechanical pencil. The choice of a pen for lettering, in contrast, is
determined by the size and style of the letters, the thickness
of stroke desired, and the personal preference of the drafter.
Good lettering involves artistic design, in which the white and
black areas are carefully balanced to produce a pleasing effect.
Letters are designed to look well, and some allowances must be
made for errors interception. If the upper portions of certain letters
and numerals are equal in width to the lower portions, the characters
appear too-heavy. To correct this, the upper portions are reduced in
size where possible, thereby producing the effect of stability and a
more pleasing appearance.
On working drawings, vertical capital letters are commonly
made % (3.22 mm) high, with the space between lines of lettering
from three fifths to the full height of the letters. For inclined capital
letters, the spacing of horizontal guidelines is the same as for
vertical capital lettering. The ANSI-recommended slope of 2 in 5 (or
68.2 with horizontal) may be established by drawing a slope
triangle and drawing the guide lines at random with the T-square
and triangle. When large and small capitals are used in combination,
the small capitals should be three fifths to two thirds as high as the
large capitals.
On the other hand, lowercase letter shave four horizontal guide
lines, called the cap line, waist line, base line and drop line. Strokes
of letters that extend up to the cap line are called ascenders and
those that extend down to the drop line, descenders. In spacing
horizontal guide lines, the ratio of the distance between the base and
waist lines with the distance between the base and cap line ma y
vary from 2:3 or 3:5. The order and direction of strokes and the
proportion of inclined lowercase letters are the same as those
of vertical lowercase letters.
Complete guide lines should be drawn for whole numbers and
fractions, especially for beginners. Fractions are twice the height
of the corresponding whole numbers. Make the numerator and the
denominator each about three fourths as high as the whole number to
allow ample clear space between them and the fraction bar. For
dimensioning, the most commonly used height for whole numbers is
% (3.22 mm), and for fractions % (6.4 mm).
Today, various forms of press-on lettering and special lettering
devices are available. In addition, all computer-aided drafting
systems have the capability to produce letters of different heights
and styles and to make changes as required. In whatever way the
lettering is applied to the drawing and whatever styles of lettering is
used, the lettering must meet the requirements for legibility
and microfilm reproduction.
It should be remembered that good lettering is always
accomplished by conscious effort, though good muscular
coordination is of great assistance. There are three necessary
aspects of learning to letter knowledge of the proportions and forms
of letters and the order of strokes, knowledge of composition or
spacing, and persistent practice with continuous effort to improve.