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How Do I Kern in Photoshop?

Last updated on September 24, 2022 @ 12:25 pm

Kerning is the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result. Kerning adjusts the space between individual letter forms, while tracking adjusts spacing uniformly over a range of characters.

Photoshop provides various kerning options via the Character panel.

PRO TIP: If you are not familiar with kerning or do not have experience using Photoshop, we recommend that you find a tutorial or ask a friend for help. Kerning is the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a text, and if done incorrectly, it can result in an unprofessional-looking or difficult-to-read finished product.

To kern text in Photoshop:

1. Select the Type tool from the Tools panel, or press T on your keyboard. 2. Click anywhere in your document to create a text layer, then type your text.

3. With the text layer selected in the Layers panel, open the Character panel by going to Window > Character (or by pressing F8 on your keyboard). 4. In the Character panel, select the desired kerning option from the drop-down menu next to Kerning:

  • Metrics: This is the default kerning option in Photoshop. It uses metric information that is embedded in most fonts.
  • Optical: This option is similar to Metrics, but it uses different spacing values for certain character pairs, which can sometimes produce more visually pleasing results.
  • Custom: This option allows you to manually adjust the spacing between any two characters by entering values in the Kerning field.

The best way to determine which kerning option looks best with your particular font and project is to experiment with all three options. In general, however, Metrics or Optical should suffice for most purposes.

Kathy McFarland

Kathy McFarland

Devops woman in trade, tech explorer and problem navigator.