The tradition of the stretched numbers in appointment books

Which do you find easier to read?

I’ve often wondered why salon appointment books always use such bad stretched numbers for the hours column. For someone interested in typography and graphic design it drives me crazy. I guess it must have started as a way to keep the columns narrow to fit as much on the page as possible, but it must only save a couple of pixels.

You end up with a much more legible and aesthetic result if you just keep the font’s proportions and make the numbers a little shorter.

It’s one of those strange traditions, that I think it’s time to change.