Lijnafstand

Lijnafstand is a typographic term used in Dutch to denote the vertical distance between the baselines of successive lines of text. It corresponds to the English term leading and is commonly referred to in Dutch typography as lijnafstand or line height. The lijnafstand is measured in units such as points (pt) or millimeters, and in digital contexts is often expressed as a factor of the font size or as a fixed value.

In most typesetting systems, the lijnafstand equals the line height; it is the distance from the baseline of one line to the baseline of the next. The font size describes the height of the glyphs; the remainder is padding. For readability, lijnafstand is typically larger than the font size; common practice ranges from about 110% to 150% of the font size for body text, depending on font choice, medium, and audience.

Historically, the term arises from metal-type printing, where strips of lead (leading) were added between lines; the Dutch term lijnafstand reflects this origin. In modern Dutch typography, regelafstand is a more common everyday term for line height in digital interfaces, while lijnafstand may be used in professional or historical contexts.

In digital design and CSS, the analogous property is line-height, which determines the rendered distance from one baseline to the next. Designers adjust lijnafstand to optimize readability, legibility, and overall page density.

See also: typography, leading, line height, regelafstand, typesetting.