The end of an era for Times New Roman?
Posted by Andrew Whitacre on May 27th, 2006.
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Times New Roman: it’s the Coke, the Kleenex, the Xerox, the Cheerios of typefaces. Times is a given. It’s natural. It’s expected. No one would ever look at a paper or article or memo and say, “Ew, why’d you choose Times New Roman?” Times is so ubiquitous that it’s invisible—it’s the Mao-poster of types.
How’d Times reach such saturation? Simple. It’s the default font on the world’s dominant word-processing program, Microsoft Word.
But no longer. . . .
Earlier this year, Microsoft released betas of Office 2007, and the first thing reviewers noticed, besides the new interface, was that Times New Roman had been deposed as the default font with something called . . . Calibri?
This article at Poynter Online provides an excellent overview of the new fonts included in Office 2007, including Calibri. It is indeed a big change: developers of MS Office have come to agree that sans-serifs like Calibri are truly easier to read for large amounts of on-screen text.
But what will happen to Times New Roman? In ten years, will it be just another term-paper alternative? Will instructors’ syllabi accept Calibri, or will they stand firm with Times because so many Word documents are still printed out to be read? Would you ever write a paper in Calibri because it’s easier to read on a screen, and then change it to Times at the last moment for your print reader? What about Phil’s theory about The Secret Lives of Fonts—is Calibri so pretty that universities will experience a round of aesthetics-inspired grade-inflation? And wtf is up with the new fonts’ not being available on Macs without a separate license? In general, what are we in for if the font-king is dead?
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77 Responses to The end of an era for Times New Roman?
Strange though, I’ve somehow unkowingly swtiched over to Georgia when writing for print (invoices, rpfs…..) - It gives it that weird new look which people can’t place.
Otherwise I think Times might stick around for awhile, especially now when more macs are being sold (incl. the spearate licensing issue) and windows is bringing out a new set of standard fonts.
Who knows maybe years down the road we might be able to tell who uses what OS just by looking at their printed text…
[…] Link to Article: fadtastic – a multi-author web design trends journal » Blog Archive » The end of an era for Times New Roman? […]
[…] A very interesting article published on Fadtastic by Andy Whitacre reports that Microsoft is going to bring out a new set of standard fonts for Office 2007: Earlier this year, Microsoft released betas of Office 2007, and the first thing reviewers noticed, besides the new interface, was that Times New Roman had been deposed as the default font with something called . . . Calibri? […]
In fooling around with Office 2007, I’ve actually gotten used to Calibri. I almost always used Arial when writing emails and documents in the past, so I happily switched to Calibri. It’s a nice, clean font.
I was hoping that Microsoft might make an agreement with Apple to allow these new fonts to be supplied in all new versions of MacOS X to allow for them to be used in web pages without embedding them. Being limited to 6-8 reliable fonts for online typography is frustrating.
[…] Should this rumor be true, it would mark a huge change in commputer font usage. Heck, I remeber using Times New Roman back on the good old Apple IIGS. […]
Times will not die - People will still use it I am sure as it is a fantastic font. Hmm not supprised about the PC bias on fonts though- Bill gates does not like mac, look what he did with not upgrading internet explorer of Macs. He cant win nicely so he has to play dirty. Great article and well spotted.
sdf
[…] I have respect for the font. I still have reams of that transfer paper with different letters, in different fonts from mom’s ad agency back in the 80s. Choosing the correct font took thought, committees and commitment. But how can I argue with Bill Gates? It’s not like I ever use Times New Roman, anyway. May 27, 2006 | In Tech | Posted By C Mart | Email This Post […]
[…] Outra coisa que acabou sendo mais importante do que eu esperava veio diretamente da grande Microsoft e o seu Windows Vista. Parece que eles mataram a Times New Roman como sendo a fonte principal e básica nesse software. Aqui você pode ler mais sobre isso e tentar descobrir o porquê. […]
[…] story No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTMLallowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> […]
Times New Roman: o fim?…
Uma questo que tem provocado alguma preocupao entre os geeks a iminente morte da fonte Times New Roman por parte da Microsoft….
Actually Calibri is very easy to read on screen, and in addition prints out very nicely as well.
If it can replace Arial, that would be ‘a good thing’.
Personally I think that serif fonts are easier to read on the printed page, especially for pages and pages of text.
[…] The end of an era for Times New Roman? […]
[…] Microsoft finally realized that Times New Roman is not that good to read on screen. So, starting from Office 2007, the default font will now be Calibri. You can take a look at Calibri here. […]
[…] The age of Times New Roman may be ending with Microsoft’s recent move to employing Calibri as their new word processing default typeface. Times New Roman has become ubiquitous and standard for most but with Calibri being the new default for Word, will other software developers follow suit? Will the future be sans serif? This typographic issue may be too rich to justify shallow initial speculation but (among other things) the very readability of future documents may be at stake. The choice of Calibri over Times New Roman raises many questions regarding design, tradition, and ergonomics. […]
[…] Earlier this year, Microsoft released betas of Office 2007, and the first thing reviewers noticed, besides the new interface, was that Times New Roman had been deposed as the default font with something called . . . Calibri? But what will happen to Times New Roman?read more | digg story […]
so just download Times New Roman from an online font website and install it into your font directory if it’s not there whenever you choose to upgrade to Office 2007, if you don’t have it already.
Ive always hated using Times New Roman
[…] fadtastic - a multi-author web design trends journal » Blog Archive » The end of an era for Times New Roman? En maar goed ook! (tags: typography) […]
[…] Nas versões beta do Office 2007, recentemente lançadas, os utilizadores reparam que a fonte default (que desde que me lembro era o Times New Roman) é agora uma nova fonte chamada Calibri, da família Sans-Serif. Link […]
“No one would ever look at a paper or article or memo and say, ‘Ew, why’d you choose Times New Roman?’”
Actually, I do that all the time. My friends tell me I’m elitist, but I say I’m just type-conscious.
Hi , I have used MS office 2007 beta 2. Its only after ur article that I noticed the default font is calibri.However , I coudnt figure much difference between calibri and times new roman. Its almost the same and will not affect times new roman to a great extent.
[…] fadtastic […]
Even the Times of London (for whom the typeface was created) hasn’t used it since 1972.
The end of an era for Times New Roman?…
Wrod on teh stret is that Times New Roman is out, Calibri is in for MS Office 2007. There’s not much to be done about it, but I’m still disturbed that Microsoft has dominion over default typefaces since everyone uses……
I for one dislike TNR, and I encourage my students to use plausible alternatives — Garamond, Georgia, Gill Sans, Lucida, Palatino, Sylfaen. Serif or sans, I have no preference as long as it’s a good font for reading. I don’t think though that better fonts make better grades — in my experience, careless writing looks even worse with an elegant font, because of the clash between between design and content.
If I’m writing on the computer, I always choose a sans serif font. I need to be looking at a draft, not something that has the appearance of finished text.
For essays and papers, it is important to note that fonts are not the same size. When using 12 pt, this can differ in some 5 lines of text more or less. That is also a reason why some fonts are excluded to avoid cheating.
[…] Times New Roman - The end of an era. […]
[…] Filed under: Windows, Office, Microsoft I don’t have any confirmation on this, but fadtastic says that for the first time in history, Times New Roman is not the default font in Microsoft Office, its status having been usurped in Office 2007 by Microsoft’s pretty new star Calibri. The venerable and ubiquitous font is still included in the office suite, of course, and the new version of Office is still in beta and things may be reshuffled again in the months before its final release, but it’s still a surprising shift for a company as stalwart as Microsoft. […]
Regarding that Poynter article, Joe Clark had some comments - http://blog.fawny.org/2005/03/27/poynter/
Thanks for the link, Paul. Much appreciated.
For the record, I’ve hated Times New Roman since the first time I was forced to use that bugridden purgatory of bloatware that is MS Word. It’s just ugly.
[…] more | digg story PermalinkTrackBack […]
[…] Cathi and Nora (well, mostly Nora) reveal their astonishing level of geekdom with a requiem for a font. Apparently, word in typographic circles has it that the new edition of Word coming out soon is eliminating Times New Roman. Read what web design experts say in this cool blog […]
“No one would ever look at a paper or article or memo and say, “Ew, why’d you choose Times New Roman?””
I disagree, as a designer every typeface choice needs to be rationalised. There should absolutely be a reason for choosing the typeface you do. At the universities I have studied at/visited/lectured at you would not do well without being able to explain your typeface choice.
[…] Times New Roman going extinct? […]
[…] I don’t have any confirmation on this, but fadtastic says that for the first time in history, Times New Roman is not the default font in Microsoft Office, its status having been usurped in Office 2007 by Microsoft’s pretty new star Calibri. The venerable and ubiquitous font is still included in the office suite, of course, and the new version of Office is still in beta and things may be reshuffled again in the months before its final release, but it’s still a surprising shift for a company as stalwart as Microsoft. […]
>>Who knows maybe years down the road we might be able to tell who uses what OS just by looking at their printed text…
You mean, like back before Microsoft Office for Mac?
(Check out the link– the whole collection of typefaces is very appealing to me. The only gripe I have is that they all have vague latin-sounding Cal/Cam/Can/Con names.)
[…] Times New Roman: The End is Near? Earlier this year, Microsoft released betas of Office 2007, and the first thing reviewers noticed, besides the new interface, was that Times New Roman had been deposed as the default font with something called… Calibri? But what will happen to Times New Roman? […]
[…] Thank-you Fadtastic for the article. […]
TNR font is beautiful and all-purpose. At the same time it is boring. There are some aged people who think that TNR is what all written English about and all other typefaces are eccentric and exotic But I bet the font will not be out simply because MS replaces it with Calibri. Habits die hard.
[…] Times New Roman was a rip off of Times from Linotype by Monotype Corp, is finally being replaced? Posted by Jeredb Filed in design […]
I think another reason Times is so popular is you can find it on most platforms usually pre-installed. Until Calibri does that… I don’t think Times will disappear. Especially for web I think people will stick with the familiar (and ubiquitous) Arial and Verdana.
[…] I just saw this post on Fadtastic called The end for an era for Times New Roman? […]
Today we found 2 comment spammers already! chd and Nina (incognito). You dont have a chance!
Johan,
We generally filter about 600 spam comments a day before they reach the blog. A few still slip though. Pesky blighters.
Problem is that the comments are disguised as real comments. Eg Good blog you have there. Or My name is whatever. The links that one adds are easily overseen when not checking though.
I’ll zap them tomorrow morning when I’ve recovered from my plane journey.
[…] Earlier this year, Microsoft released betas of Office 2007, and the first thing reviewers noticed, besides the new interface, was that Times New Roman had been deposed as the default font with something called . . . Calibri? But what will happen to Times New Roman?read more | digg story […]
Your website is great resource, thanks.
Robert
Times New Roman should have been out long ago. It’s the default font. And graphic designers are not default sort of people!
I have vision problems, and I can’t read fonts other than TNR (Times New Roman) without great difficulty. Well actually, I can’t read Sans Serif fonts without great difficulty. I always use TNR. And if Craposoft decides to eliminate TNR from Officer 2007; I’ll just DL a copy of TNR and use it.
Vive Times New Roman!
Christian,
That’s interesting. How come TNR is the only font you can read? If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear more about why this is.
I don’t think Microsoft is dropping TNR, merely using Calibri as the default font in Office.
[…] Page Summary: Otherwise I think Times might stick around for awhile, especially now when more macs are being sold (incl. Jonathan WingMay 29th, 2006 Hi , I have used MS office 2007 beta 2. Nam mauris nisl, adipiscing vitae, dignissim sit amet, ultrices nec, dui. Morbi tellus orci, venenatis eleifend, iaculis vitae, mattis nec, orci.read more | digg story […]
If it can replace Arial, that would be ‘a good thing’.
Personally I think that serif fonts are easier to read on the printed page, especially for pages and pages of text.
Greetings from Poland
[…] Users of the Office Suite should check out Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats. Just download O2007Cnv.exe in the language of your choice and install. Your system will be updated to allow backwards compatibility with files saved from the newer versions and, as you will be pleased to note, it will also automatically install Microsoft’s new Vista fonts including Calibri which is slated to replace Times New Roman. […]
I have always thought that Times New Roman was the “default” font, the “boring” font, the font that everyone uses when they are too lazy to change it to something else that looks better… but now that I’ve seen so much and done so much research about it, I’m totally sad that everyone is using Calibri now…
cool thought. is it possible to download the calibri font for earlier versions of MS office, like 2000? its great though…*picture the headlines of our national newspaper with this”: King Font Brought to Knees by New Font Calibri.
To answer Max’s query, sure, you can move Calibri from a computer with Office 2K7 to a computer with Office 2000. Just go into Control Panel > Fonts, find Calibri, Ctrl+C, Edit > Paste it onto a floppy or flash drive, and copy and paste it from there into the Fonts folder of the computer with Office 2000.
I agree with Jonathan Wing, though — I shudder every time I look at Times New Roman. Why? Several reasons:
1. It’s like bellbottoms and wood panelling — it’s old and there are better alternatives.
2. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not as readable as most people think. It’s true that serif fonts are, by and large, easier to read for 12pt-14pt text than sans-serif fonts, but Garamond and Georgia (two other serif fonts) periodically score much higher on readability tests than TNR en masse.
3. As mentioned in the linked article about The Secret Lives of Fonts, Georgia/Garamond/Calisto are more professional and give off a cleaner look — the serifs remain to retain the sharp image, but they are considered more classy than Times New Roman.
4. Some people say that Times New Roman should be used because it is universal and everyone has it. Technically, every Windows PC with an operating system of Windows 98 or later has Georgia natively installed, so this isn’t really a valid argument for TNR.
To summarize, I’m glad they gave TNR the boot from default font in Office 2007. I’m proud to say that in five years as a web developer, I’ve never willingly used TNR as the font on a website before, and I’ve successfully convinced one of my TNR-only profs to reconsider. TNR is something I’ve been grumbling over for a long time, and so has everyone with any smidgen of aesthetic sense, so go Microsoft! in taking this beast from our hands.
Very interresting article. Can I translate it and insert into my webpage?
Interested.Thanks.
Calibri is a very artistic and good to make some journals, essays, ore something like that. A good replacement for Times New Roman.
For one, I have always loathed TNR. Trebuchet MS rocks, and Calibri isn’t bad either.
As a literacy person, I must comment. While San Serif fonts are easiest to read online, serif fonts have been demonstrated to be more "readable" on the printed page. So, the font choice should depend on the purpose — online or on page.
long live times new roman
i still am endeared to the old times new roman.
Times New Roman is good, but the Russian Literaturnaya font is better!
If Times New Roman wasn’t used as the default font for so long it would be a beautiful font!It isn’t dead, it has just been over used. Start using it in different ways, you might be surprised.
I am looking for a particular kind of Times New Roman font, I believe it number 1818, or 1880. Kindly inform me of where on te web I can find it. Much appreciated
Funny how Helvetica was the Times 20 years ago and now it’s almost trendy again
wow and you no what i thought was halarious.. is that this font that im typing in right now isnt even Times New Roman..?
Times New Roman is one of my favourite fonts and always have to be in my font list. Calibri is a good font too but Times have a bit place in my heart.
[…] to fadtastic, Microsoft, in their new version of Office 2007 have chosen not to include a modernday classic […]
Shame ComicSans hasn’t dissappeared yet: http://www.fontreviews.com/post/2007/11/Comic-Sans–Misused-Font.aspx Argghhhh
Hi all great information here and good thread to comment on.
I am an adict to training and really want to get to my best this year!
Can I ask though - how did you get this picked up and into google news?
Very impressive that this blog is syndicated through Google and is it something that is just up to Google or you actively created?
Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your seo success..
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