James Felici on Typesetting

James Felici, The Complete Manual of Typography, on digital typesetting (p.5):

Like handset type, digital type must also take into account spaces within and between lines, such as paragraph indents or extra space between a headline and a text below it. Although those area appear blank on the printed page, it’s important to think of them as filled with space rather than as simple voids.

If there is an essential truism in typesetting, it is that a page contains no voids, only spaces between printed elements. The essence of typesetting is regulating the size of those spaces to control the balance and rhythm between black and white. This is the key to a graphically harmonious page—one with good type color—as well as to text that is pleasing and easy to read.

Felici on controlling space (p.21):

Typesetting is a game of controlling spaces, so its tools are all keyed to precise measuring.

Felici on font versus typeface (p.29):

The font is the cookie cutter, and the typeface is the cookie.