Anyone use a custom font regularly?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Pyjam

I use Veleka, a modification of Charis SIL. It's perfect for me.
Veleka

There is no kerning which is a big oops! Try ChareInk based on the 5.0 version of Charis SIL. I did add kerning and it looks good. Also I've adjusted the metrics so on a Kindle it reduces the line height. It gives you more text on a Kindle screen then Bookerly and it looks much better. As for the glyphs, I've never read of anyone on MR having a problem with something missing. Plus, a lot of reading software does not support opentype features.

[Pyjam]

I'll try it if you give me a link, so I'll be sure to use the right version.
That said, I don't want a reduced line height. On the contrary, I edit all my books to augment the line height to my liking.
I'm not interested by more text per screen page, really not. My Oasis keeps the same thickness whatever the number of screen pages for a book. ;0)
Thanks for your answer, anyway.

Edit: I've just tried v1.1 from here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=184056
I've already tried it in the past. I'm sorry but I prefer Veleka for my Oasis.
ChareInk is too bold and the line height is too small for my eyes.
The text seems too compressed for my liking.
I don't understand your comment about kerning as there is no kerning issue with the version of Veleka I'm using.

Edit 2: I've compared a word starting by "Ve…". The spacing is the same with both Veleka and ChareInk.

Edit 3:
I've taken two screenshots. Under close examination, I can see some subtle difference in the spacing between both fonts. But not where expected. I won't say there is no kerning at all.

Eventually – for my eyes – Veleka with boldness set to 1 works better. ChareInk at level 0 isn't bold enough, and at level 1 it's already too bold.

Anyway, again, thanks for your suggestion.

[gilster]

I'm confused. Is 1.1 the version of ChareInk to use on the Oasis, or is there any reason to stick with 1.0?

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

ChareInk is based on Charis SIL which is based on Baskerville. One font I really want to try is Monotype'a Baskerville eText. The problem is that it is very expensive.

I agree that Gentium SIL is nothing special. Bookerly is OK at best. Do not use the version in the Kindle 5.12.3 firmware as it doesn't align properly at smaller sizes. Plus, you might need to edit the metadata as it's off and can cause a problem.

I don't like reading with sans-serif fonts (for a book). They just are harder to read the. A good serif such as ChareInk. Another thing I dislike is a font with extra long defenders.

Don't get me wrong, I like Baskerville in general, but not for extended reading. I have been using the updated Bookerly since I try to keep my Kindle up to date but haven't really noticed issues - I've seen this commented on with the forum, though, so it could just be something that's slipped under my radar.

[Pyjam]

Originally Posted by gilster

I'm confused. Is 1.1 the version of ChareInk to use on the Oasis, or is there any reason to stick with 1.0?

Veleka looks nicer on the new Oasis.

[gilster]

Thanks. I'm planning on trying them both, and have downloaded Veleka, but am curious about which Chareink to use. Will then compare, but it will be good to have both available.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by gilster

I'm confused. Is 1.1 the version of ChareInk to use on the Oasis, or is there any reason to stick with 1.0?

Veldeek

Trust me when I say that with KFX eBooks, ChareInk is going to blow away Veleka. Also, if you prefer the smaller line height, ChareInk again will blow away Veleka.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Pyjam

I'll try it if you give me a link, so I'll be sure to use the right version.
That said, I don't want a reduced line height. On the contrary, I edit all my books to augment the line height to my liking.
I'm not interested by more text per screen page, really not. My Oasis keeps the same thickness whatever the number of screen pages for a book. ;0)
Thanks for your answer, anyway.

Edit: I've just tried v1.1 from here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=184056
I've already tried it in the past. I'm sorry but I prefer Veleka for my Oasis.
ChareInk is too bold and the line height is too small for my eyes.
The text seems too compressed for my liking.
I don't understand your comment about kerning as there is no kerning issue with the version of Veleka I'm using.

Edit 2: I've compared a word starting by "Ve…". The spacing is the same with both Veleka and ChareInk.

Edit 3:
I've taken two screenshots. Under close examination, I can see some subtle difference in the spacing between both fonts. But not where expected. I won't say there is no kerning at all.

Eventually – for my eyes – Veleka with boldness set to 1 works better. ChareInk at level 0 isn't bold enough, and at level 1 it's already too bold.

Anyway, again, thanks for your suggestion.

Don't give up just yet. Use the version of ChareInk that has no added weight and use the Kindle's settings to increase the weight.

Where kerning makes a difference will be with KFX that does support kerning. Also, you can adjust the line height in the Kindle settings to make it larger. If there is any difference in the letter spacing in KF8 format, it's down to my having used a newer version of Charis SIL to start with.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Pyjam

Veleka looks nicer on the new Oasis.

I have to disagree. It has issues that have no been seen to. ChareInk has two versions. One with added weight and one without. You've chosen the one with added weight and because of this, you aren't able to get the weight the way you want. Use the one without the added weight and you can add the weight you want in the Aa menu. Another thing is you don't like ChareInk's reduced line height. Most people who do use ChareInk like it that way.

Another issue is that Veleka is using an older Charis SIL to start with so some differences can be down to that.

[Pyjam]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Don't give up just yet. Use the version of ChareInk that has no added weight and use the Kindle's settings to increase the weight.

I'm sorry to disagree because I'm sure you've spent a lot of time on this work but I've used the noweight version of ChareInk and Veleka looks nicer.

Maybe it has something to do with hinting. I don't know.

This latest version of ChareInk shows some glitches. I don't want to bash your work. Here's an example. Look at the position of "a" in the word "habitat". Obviously it is not well centered between "h" and "b". It is when I use Veleka. I hope this helps.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by shalym

See, sans fonts are much easier for me to read, and my favorite is Amazon Ember.

Isn't it wonderful how different we all are, and how easy it is to find fonts that work for us?

Shari

Yes, absolutely.

If anything, I find it interesting to read people's varying opinions on fonts and how we work so differently. It's a nice feature of e-readers in general that they're customizable because of this in the first place.

[Pyjam]

Here are other examples where letters are not properly centered with ChareInk (y, w, w, v).
It's a KFX file from Amazon. I didn't touch it.