045: Thou shall not add two spaces after a period

Commentary Ever since the introduction of movable type, the correct amount of space following a period has been a source of debate. Type set by hand utilized variously sized “spacers” depending on the chosen font and it was down to the compositor to decide what looked right. The introduction of the typewriter in the late 19th century changed all this because the type was monospaced, meaning each letter was allocated the same character width.

A single space after a period was deemed insufficient so the practice of double-spacing was taught widely, with hot-metal Linotype operators adopting the convention alongside regular typing-pool employees. Nowadays, modern digital fonts contain proportional kerning pairs and a slightly wider space is always added after a period, so a double space is no longer required. It’s ultimately down to the typographer but the convention is, always add a single space after a period. TS