🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <IMG.92Aug21145454@eagle.aisb.ed.ac.uk>, img@aisb.ed.ac.uk (Ian Green) writes:
 
> On 19 Aug 92 17:14:40 GMT, dhosek@lucy.claremont.edu said:
> [...]
>>> My problem now is: How can I get my fonts to be in 14 point? I am basically
>>> using a mocked up version of the springer style file smva.sty, plus 12pt on
>>> the report.sty. The ideal thing would be if there were a 14pt option file
>>> that would work well in conjunction with report.sty. 
 
>> No, not report.sty! LaTeX has a bad enough reputation for
>> producing ugly output as it is! Does your publisher have no
>> concern for quality output?
 
> 	I stopped at your claim that LaTeX has a `bad enough
> reputation'.  I wonder why, if this is the case, why there aren't any
> other styles around which are one-up on the standard styles.  I think
> I'm inclined to agree with you, so where are they?

Problem: Generic styles are always going to be sub-par. Styles
for a given series are better, and a design for a particular work
is best (after all, every book has different content and uses).

Problem: Style-writing is at best an arcane art. Granted, an
arcane art that pays some of our rents, but an arcane art
nonetheless.

There are many thousands of styles (OK, maybe not _thousands_,
but some significant number). For generic styles, I recommend
Victor Eijkhout's "NTG" Styles which give a handful of variants
which satisfy many people's desires. Until recently, I used these
as my base styles when creating styles on contract.

-dh

Don Hosek                  
dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu  
Quixote Digital Typography 
714-621-1291