What Font Do Newspapers Use? Examples & Ideas

Fonts play an instrumental role in making the content of newspapers legible, inviting, and engaging. Their choice can influence the reader’s mood, ensuring the news is conveyed as effectively as possible.

Newspaper fonts have evolved over time, but they continue to be dominated by a handful of traditional and reliable typefaces that ensure readability and maintain a professional, authoritative look.

In this article, we will delve into the world of newspaper typography, explore the fonts historically used, and look at modern examples.

A Brief History of Newspaper Fonts

Historically, newspapers have predominantly used serif typefaces. Serifs are small lines or strokes attached to the end of larger strokes in a letter or symbol. This feature guides the reader’s eye along the line of text, making serif typefaces easier to read in long, printed texts like newspapers.

Old Style Serif Fonts

Old Style or humanist serif fonts, which originated in the 15th and 16th centuries, were commonly used in the early days of newspaper printing. These typefaces, such as Garamond and Caslon, have a relatively organic structure, emulating the look of handwriting with a feather quill.

Transitional and Modern Serif Fonts

Later, Transitional and Modern serif typefaces emerged, which broke away from the humanistic letterforms. They included sharper serifs and more contrasting strokes. Examples include Baskerville (Transitional) and Bodoni (Modern).

Modern Newspaper Fonts

The 20th and 21st...