Saga Serif

Its x-height is 69.5% of the cap height, near the 69.6% typical of serif fonts in the library, lower than 21 of the 39 other serif fonts. Ascenders on b, d, h, k and l line up with the capitals (100% of their height), and descenders on g, j, p, q and y drop 30.7% of the cap height below the baseline, deeper than 26 of the 39 other serif fonts. It sets wide: an average lowercase letter, spacing included, is 94% as wide as the capitals are tall (an average capital, 105.2%), 9.4% more than the median for serif fonts, so the same words take a longer line. The o is wider than it is tall, 1.22 to 1, and W is the widest capital, at 1.09 times the width of H. The O rises 1.2% of the cap height above H and sits on the baseline.

The letters stand upright, with no measurable slant. Vertical stems measure 17.3% of the cap height, heavier than 22 of the 35 other serif fonts. Ink covers 31.7% of each lowercase letter's box (its advance width by the cap height), lighter than 20 of the 39 other serif fonts. Strokes change thickness with direction: the sides of o and O are 2.0 times as thick as their tops and bottoms.

Its 148 characters include 105 Latin letters, plus 43 figures, punctuation marks and symbols; 53 of the Latin letters are accented or special forms beyond A to Z. The word space measures 38.3% of the cap height, and the blank space either side of a lowercase letter takes up 6.2% of its width. Spacing is adjusted with 241 kerning pairs, more than 25 of the 39 other serif fonts. The tightest of them is VA, which closes up by 31.2% of the cap height. The figures have different widths, so columns of numbers set in Saga Serif will not line up exactly.

Saga Serif is drawn on the same letter structure as 13 other fonts in the library. Compared with Saga Serif, Pointe Serif sets 16% narrower and puts down 22% less ink. Scholar Roman sets 11% narrower, puts down 18% less ink and adds Arabic, Greek, Filipino and 7 more languages. Vampire Serif adds paint drips, sets 18% narrower and has a 75% x-height.