Leading and the Baseline Grid

Exerted from our Accelerated QuarkXPress 6 book

Leading

Leading refers to the vertical space between lines in your document measured from baseline to baseline. (The baseline is the invisible line that your text sits on.)

A simple way to make sure you’ve got ample leading is to use the “plus two” rule. Take your font’s point size and add two. The result is your leading. For example, if your body text is set at 12 points, 12 + 2 = 14. Your leading would be 14 points.

Many designers will show font size and leading like a fraction. For example, if you see 12/14 written as instructions for you to use in creating a layout, the first number you see if font size (12) and the second number is leading (14).

By default, most desktop publishing programs, including QuarkXPress and PageMaker, use Auto for leading. You should never accept Auto. If you do, you’ll eventually have trouble lining up the baselines. In a multiple column layout, many desktop publishers attempt to get the baselines to line up across the page.

The Baseline Grid

One of the things that separates good design from average design is baselines that line up.

In your document, the baselines of the body text do not line up across the page. The reason is that the headlines and pullquotes are bigger than the body text. Since all of the styles share the same leading (13 points), you can automatically have QuarkXPress line up the baselines by locking the text to a grid—the baseline grid.

There is only one baseline grid per Quark document. The grid you set up must match the leading of your most common occurring text element.

To Set the Baseline Grid:

Choose Edit > Preferences > Preferences
Select Paragraph (beneath Document)
Change the Baseline Grid Increment to the same number as the leading of your most common occurring element.
Click OK
Press [shift] [F11] to Edit Style Sheets
Double-click the style sheet that you want to lock to the baseline grid
Click the Formats tab
Select Lock to Baseline Grid
Click OK and then click Save