kerning

Definition

Adjustment of space between certain characters in a line of text, using their natural shape and slope to improve their appearance. Without kerning, several letter combinations (such as WA and VA) can look awkward and may impede smooth flow of eye movement along the text. Kerning becomes more important in italic types, and as the size of the font increases (such as in headlines). Modern desktop publishing programs (such Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe Indesign, and Quark'Xpress) allow both automatic and manual kerning. Simultaneous adjustment of space between many letters in a piece of text is called range kerning. See also letter spacing and tracking.