The History of Linear, Sans Serif Typefaces

Capital letters
In comparison with lowercase letters, the uppercase was considerably reduced in size, also for the sake of the aesthetics of the gray line. The previously discussed standardization of width which was applied in the first sans serif fonts (see Fig. 8) was also quite conducive to this trend.

The spacing problem
The problem of text spacing deserves some explanation as well. In leadsetting, the serifs in roman type made it impossible to place letters too close to each other, as the serifs acted like buffers between train carriages. The arrangement of vertical bars in roman type can be compared with a classic row of columns with unified spacing (see Fig. 21a). But due to the absence of serifs in the new grotesque typefaces, a conscious reduction of the lateral bearing values was required to ensure the visual unity of each word. In this way, a two-phased rhythm was established (see Fig. 21b).
The new technology of photosetting, as well as scratch film letters, allowed for complete freedom in determining the spacing between characters. This trend led to an absurd crowding of the letters to the point where they practically seemed glued together (see Fig. 22).