A traditional composition technique where the typesetter deliberately adds extra space between words or lines to make the text occupy a larger area. This stretches short copy to fill a required column depth or avoids an awkward page break. It results in a looser, more open typographic color.
Heard on the job
Drive out the last paragraph on page four so we don't end up with a widow at the top of page five.
Also heard as
- branch out
Do not mix it up with
- Space out: Space out refers to adding space between letters or words, while driving out specifically aims to increase the total line count or column depth.