Fonts for readability on eink?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

But, you like Charis SIL, which is a slab-serif.

You can see that Charis SIL even extends the "slabness" of Bitstream Charter (on which it is based) by the fact that the serifs have no fillets, but instead meet the stems at a 90° angle.

And, Bookerly is not a slab serif, but rather a true serif. The serifs connect to the stems via a line that angles up slowly from the end of the serif, so that they are thicker near the stem. Slab serifs are much more similar thickness through the whole serif.

Bitstream classifies Bitstream Charter as a traditional serif.

[7hir7een]

I prefer Gentium Book on my ereaders

[Amalthia]

I heard people recommend Rakuten Serif, I've checked out the Rakuten Kobo page for the font and it looks nice. However, they don't have a link to purchase the font or download it, if it's free. Is this font only available on Kobo readers?

[Aleron Ives]

Yeah, there's a font "showcase" page, but you can't download anything. You need a Kobo device with at least firmware 4.35 to get the font files, I guess.

[nana77]

Hi, I find GNUFreeFont on inverted screen (white text on black screen) nice.
(here there are some other fonts, if it might interest https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Fonts#Font_packages)

[shelfwalker]

Literata works well for me on eink — readable at smaller sizes without feeling too thin. I've tried a few others, but I keep coming back to it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by shelfwalker

Literata works well for me on eink — readable at smaller sizes without feeling too thin. I've tried a few others, but I keep coming back to it.

Literata is too thin even for LCD. It's not going to look good on eInk.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Literata is too thin even for LCD. It's not going to look good on eInk.

Again, Jon, the OP was giving their personal opinion. Perhaps adding IMHO or even IMNSHO would help your posts to look more like you are expressing your opinion and less like a statement of objective fact.

Literata was originally designed for Google as the default font for Playbooks on ereaders, mobile apps and computer screens and, IMHO, is not that bad on an eInk screen other than the overly (again IMHO) stressed characters most visible in the italic variants. Since I prefer a darker type, I ended up using the 500 (Medium) weight variant for regular and italic but left the 700 weight variant for bold/bold-italic. You could also achieve close to the same by using the font weight slider.

[thmsl91]

I settled on Vollkorn. It's cosy.

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Since I prefer a darker type, I ended up using the 500 (Medium) weight variant for regular and italic but left the 700 weight variant for bold/bold-italic. You could also achieve close to the same by using the font weight slider.

The fact that it is a variable font for weight and italic means that most e-readers can't use it directly, but instead require the font weight and italic to be instanced into the four files needed (normal, italic, bold, and bold italic).

This could be a negative for many users, in that they don't understand how to create the instanced versions of the font.

OTOH, because it's variable, you could tweak the weight to exactly what you want...no need to settle for 500 if 525 is perfect for you.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

The fact that it is a variable font for weight and italic means that most e-readers can't use it directly, but instead require the font weight and italic to be instanced into the four files needed (normal, italic, bold, and bold italic).

For what it's worth, the download from Google includes the variable and variable/italic variants but it also includes a static set and static fixed font size variants. You can use those static fonts on your ereader without issue. The font weights go from extra light (100) to black (900) in regular and italic variants.

[Desertway]

I renamed both Literata Book Medium and Charis 7 Medium to "regular" for my Kindle. I ultimately settled on Charis, but I like them both. (I actually increase the weight from Medium on the device, but it was a better starting place for me than the original "regular".)

[Maxbet]

I think there's an interesting distinction between a font that looks beautiful and one that remains comfortable after an hour of reading.
The discussion about Literata's weight is a good example. Instead of dismissing a font because its default appearance seems too thin, it might be worth experimenting with a slightly heavier weight.
Another useful test would be reading an entire chapter rather than comparing fonts using just a few sample sentences. Italics, punctuation, and line spacing can make a surprising difference over longer reading sessions.
Has anyone noticed whether their preferred font changes depending on the screen size?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Maxbet

Has anyone noticed whether their preferred font changes depending on the screen size?

Not any real change. My real preference is for fonts that I do not notice since if I am noticing the font, it keeps me from concentrating on my reading.

[Desertway]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Not any real change. My real preference is for fonts that I do not notice since if I am noticing the font, it keeps me from concentrating on my reading.

Exactly this. If I'm noticing it, even to notice that it's "pretty", it's not the font for me.