Which font do you use for your formal letters and why?

[Paul der Krake]

I've always used Times New Roman without giving it any thought, but today I'm feeling bold and open to alternatives.

I want something that conveys at least some professionalism, so no Comic Sans plz.

[Cheddar Stacker]

GEORGIA, SIZE 36, RED, ALL CAPS

Very bold choice no?

I'm actually a times new roman size 12 kind of guy. All business. No funny stuff. I have a client that uses a lot of purple. Very off putting IMO.

Sometimes it's fun to be different though I guess.

[jjquantz]

Times New Roman and 12 point font have served me very well through 4 or 5 job changes.

[marty998]

For our financial statements and annual reports we assemble at work we have moved away from Times New Roman, which is looking quite dated nowadays.

One year we used Verdana, but now its (mostly) Arial.

I have a habit of using Calibri in my spreadsheets.

[gimp]

Times new roman, 12pt. No idea why MS decided to change it after making it the de facto standard.

[GuitarStv]

Wingdings.  Because fuck formal letters.  GuitarStv has no time for that pomp and pageantry.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Depends on if it's intended for print or on screen.  For instance, when applying for jobs I email a copy of my resume in Arial, then will try to find out how to mail them a physical copy in Times New Roman.  I know I can't control them printing out the copy I emailed them, but each one does look better for its intended use, so I try.

[Zamboni]

Times New Roman. 

[Frugalicious]

Calibri, 11 pt.  It's the standard at the firm where I work.

[Rural]

Usually Calibri at 12 pt, because I like it better than Arial. I do sans serif fonts because they are better for people with limited vision.

[arebelspy]

..but seriously, Times New Roman 12.  Fuck it being "dated," it's called a standard for a reason.

[Thedudeabides]

Helvetica. Clean and timeless.

[mc6]

I'm fond of Verdana.

[Lyssa]

Arial. Looks formal enough without being Times New Roman. :-)

[Russ]

Garamond is fancy shit, but is slightly harder to read. I rarely use it. Still an option.

Really I just don't do anything that would require fancy letters.

[gooki]

Titles:
Futura Book, 16pt

Sub titles:
Futura Book, 11pt

Body copy:
Adobe Garamond Pro, 10pt

But only because all my coms are in PDF format. If I had to send word docs, i'd use Arial and Times New Roman

[RetiredAt63]

My Style guides at work basically recommended serif fonts for reading, Sans serif fonts for numbers (i.e. tables) and sans serif headings.  If it is going to be printed, use at least a 12 font (Times New Roman) or equivalent (larger for headings). Lots of us will need our reading glasses for anything smaller.
I like Century Schoolbook, personally, I found it looked very nice and easy to read when I used it for projected notes in class.

[warfreak2]

Wingdings.

[Thedudeabides]

Wingdings.

:D

[davisgang90]

I use the Hipster font.  It's pretty obscure, you've probably never heard of it.

[Thedudeabides]

I use the Hipster font.  It's pretty obscure, you've probably never heard of it.

I use that font when I'm listening to Dashboard Confessional.

[zinnie]

Calibri 11pt., now. Used to be Times New Roman. Our contracts still use Times, though.

[arebelspy]

I use the Hipster font.  It's pretty obscure, you've probably never heard of it.

I use that font when I'm listening to Dashboard Confessional.

Hey!  Watch it.  Teenage me LOVED Dashboard Confessional.  :P

I still like "Am I Missing".

[lizzzi]

Courier New 12 pt. for everything. But if it wasn't business correspondence, I'd probably hand-write the letter on Crane stationery with my black Pentel RSVP fine point.

[lizzzi]

Oh,oh--forgot to say why. Courier New 12 pt. because it is totally standard, accepted everywhere, and easier to read than TNR.

[Thedudeabides]

I use the Hipster font.  It's pretty obscure, you've probably never heard of it.

I use that font when I'm listening to Dashboard Confessional.

Hey!  Watch it.  Teenage me LOVED Dashboard Confessional.  :P

I still like "Am I Missing".

Heh, it's not as good of a joke when one forgets the link:

http://explosm.net/comics/2295/

[Adventine]

Cambria, 12pt! Still formal-looking, but easier to read than Garamond and more "special" to look at than Times New Roman.

[ProfWinkie]

 Garamond Pro 12.5 pt

[G-dog]

Arial

I prefer sans serif as easier to read, and also scans better (I think). I also like fonts that have proportional spacing.

Verdana I like this one OK too.

[C. K.]

I've always used Times New Roman without giving it any thought, but today I'm feeling bold and open to alternatives.

I want something that conveys at least some professionalism, so no Comic Sans plz.

That urge is understandable. I do Times New Roman. When I'm ready to change, I choose another serif font to give it that grounded look.

It's usually Georgia, but I have strayed into Cambria.

Sans serif seems too informal.

[grantmeaname]

I like cambria and calibri, the new (Office 2010+) default fonts.

Also the liberation fonts, which are the same size and shape as the old MS core fonts like TNR. I used those for quite a while.