Text Layout Calculator — Fit Text to Your Page

Include all letters, spaces and punctuation marks. Most word processors show character count in the status bar or under File > Properties. For quick estimation, multiply word count by 5.5 (average English word length plus space).

Average character width varies by script: Italic is about 55% of x-height, Foundational 60%, Uncial 70%, Copperplate 45%, Gothic 50%. These are approximate mean advance-widths from broad-edge pedagogy (the Edward Johnston tradition) — round scripts like Uncial run widest, while condensed scripts like Gothic/Blackletter and slanted Copperplate run narrowest. Individual letters vary too: m and w are wider, i and l narrower.

Traditional manuscript margins follow the 2:3:4:6 ratio (inner:top:outer:bottom) from the Tschichold/Rosarivo canon, so the bottom margin is always the largest for visual balance. The defaults here suit a single A4 portrait page: 25 mm left, 20 mm right, 25 mm top, 30 mm bottom. For a bound book, set the inner (spine-side) margin smallest and the outer (fore-edge) margin larger.

Write each line on layout paper first and measure its length. Then calculate the starting position as (line width - text width) / 2 + left margin. Or use a centring guide line and write outward from the centre.

You can reduce x-height, tighten interline spacing, narrow margins, or use a larger page size. The calculator shows pages needed, so you can adjust inputs until you achieve a single-page layout.