Arial 和 Times New Roman，用哪个好？

以前做幻灯片的时候，我一直用Times New Roman。不为别的，只因为这是我最喜欢的字体。但是我的老板每次都要我改成Arial字体。直到最近，老板在给另一个同学修改幻灯片的时候，才告诉我们为什么要用这种字体。

英文字体分两类，一种是Serif字体，一种是Sans-Serif字体。

Serif 字体，就是有那种边边角角的字体。比如说Times New Roman就是一种Serif字体。这种字体常用于印刷业，而且特别适用于长篇文章段落。这是因为，这种字体的边边角角（也就是"Serif"），可以用来清楚地分辨出每一个字母，因此读者浏览那些字数比较多的段落就变得很轻松。这就是为什么所有的书本杂志和报纸几乎都是用Serif字体印刷的。

Sans-Serif字体，就是不带那些边边角角字体。比如说Arial就是一种Sans-Serif字体。这种字体的特征就是简洁大方。但是因为没有那些边角，一些字母数字就相对不容易区分，比如字母“ I ”和“ l ”。几乎所有的广告、标志和牌子等都是用Sans-Serif字体。幻灯片使用这种字体会显得简洁、正式，所以一般都用Arial。

除此上面的应用之外，你会注意到系统、程序和网页里的字体也几乎都是Sans-Serif字体，即使是很长的段落。这是因为显示器的分辨率低，而字体不能减小。如果用Serif字体，那些边边角角就很难用像素显示清楚，结果反而不利于阅读。这也是为什么在幻灯片里最好用Sans-Serif。

两种字体的差别只有实践经验才能体会得到。到底用哪一种，其实最终还是视习俗与个人喜好而定。

下面贴一段来自维基百科的文字，用两种字体显示，你可以比较哪一种字体容易阅读

（鉴于有网友指出Arial字体明显大于同型号的Roman，因此把Roman的字体放大到14号显示）

Serifed fonts are widely used for body text because they are considered easier to read than sans-serif fonts in print. However, scientific study on this topic has been ambiguous. Colin Wheildon, who conducted scientific studies in 1982–1990, found that sans serif fonts created various difficulties for readers that impaired comprehension. According to Kathleen Tinkel, studies suggest that "most sans serif typefaces may be slightly less legible than most serif faces, but ... the difference can be offset by careful setting". Other studies have found no significant difference in readability for serif or sans serif.

Serifed fonts are widely used for body text because they are considered easier to read than sans-serif fonts in print. However, scientific study on this topic has been ambiguous. Colin Wheildon, who conducted scientific studies in 1982–1990, found that sans serif fonts created various difficulties for readers that impaired comprehension. According to Kathleen Tinkel, studies suggest that "most sans serif typefaces may be slightly less legible than most serif faces, but ... the difference can be offset by careful setting". Other studies have found no significant difference in readability for serif or sans serif.