Quote from: Steven Mitchell;1058733Is there any research on how the proportion of the columns affects scanning, if at all?  The 50/50 is easy, but dang I like the looks and utility of something done in two-thirds/one-third.

The results mentioned by Omega, above, are the only ones I've heard, based on number of characters more than percentage of page width, as I understand it.

The early 4th edition Gurps books were triple column, which was awful.
The 3rd edition Gurps books were 2 column with sidebars, which was cramped.

One column with sidebars might be an interesting choice.

Quote from: Aglondir;1058753The early 4th edition Gurps books were triple column, which was awful.
The 3rd edition Gurps books were 2 column with sidebars, which was cramped.

One column with sidebars might be an interesting choice.

I do like sidebars, but like highlighting they are often over used. Used sparingly they are great to make important information easy to find. Used carelessly they just add clutter.

If you really hate your customers, you could emulate the French jdr RétroFuture, that used 3 or 4 columns each slanted alternately 15 degrees left or right.

As people said, 2-column reduces page count. It also looks kind of elegant.

I just opened the 1st edition Conspiracy X. It's a single, page wide column. It looks bad compared to 2 column.

Speaking as a publisher, a two-column format (or, better still, three-column with one of them text-less) is more readable and pleasing to the eye.

However, as some people have pointed out, this is becoming a problem between print publications vs. digital publications. They have vastly different layout requirements for ease of reading.

//Panjumanju

Quote from: Panjumanju;1059014Speaking as a publisher, a two-column format (or, better still, three-column with one of them text-less) is more readable and pleasing to the eye.

However, as some people have pointed out, this is becoming a problem between print publications vs. digital publications. They have vastly different layout requirements for ease of reading.

The size of the book also matters. These recommendations are great for a 8.5x11 books, but the same in a 6x9 would be unreadable (not enough words per line at any reasonable font size).

The recommendation I recall from the graphic design classes I took is that optimal line length is 50-75 characters including spaces regardless of font size. Too short and it breaks a reader's flow. Too long and they lose focus.

Two 3.5" wide columns (typical for an 8.5x11 page) at about 10 point font size puts you at about 55 characters; right near the minimum before it starts breaking flow by being too short. 9 point with the same margins is about 65 characters. It can run into trouble though if you get any larger to cater to older eyes, about 48 characters a basic 11 point font and down to about 45 at 12 point.

One 4.5" column (the default for a 6x9 book) at 10 points is about 74 characters; just about the maximum before the average reader loses focus, but at 11-12 pt fonts which are more typical for that layout its about 65 or 60 characters respectively.

Honestly, I'd consider optimal line length (which is a function of which font and point size you use) ahead of any other suggestions for number of columns.