A space line is a blank, non-printing strip of metal, usually cast from lead or brass, inserted by a compositor between lines of set type. These strips push the lines apart, adding white space to improve readability or to stretch a block of text to fill a specific vertical depth on the page. They are cast lower than type-high so they do not catch ink from the rollers.
Heard on the job
Drop a one-point space line between those paragraphs to let the text breathe a little.
Also heard as
- lead