Paragraph formatting allows the user to specify an amount of space to be placed before or after a paragraph. With paragraph formatting, spacing can be controlled in smaller increments in order to achieve the best appearance based on the font, leading, and other elements of the design.
View Rules and Best Practices in Page Layout Illustrations: Space After Paragraphs. The columns of text use the same font size and leading (line spacing). However, the text on the right uses spacing after each paragraph that is slightly less than double hard returns would allow. Additionally, the subheading has a small amount of space added before it, to set that section apart from the preceding text without leaving the excessive empty space found on the left where triple hard returns are used.
The dialog boxes shown at the bottom of the Space After Paragraphs illustration show some of the formatting options available in Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress. The highlighted portion sets the amount of spacing before and/or after a paragraph.
TIP: Although readability and appearance should be your overriding concerns, using paragraph formatting instead of hard returns can help you fit more text on the page. It’s one way to cheat at copyfitting, if applied consistently throughout a document.
The Bottomline: Professional typesetters, designers, and desktop publishers should use paragraph formatting to put space between paragraphs. Save the hard returns for typewriting, email, term papers, personal correspondence, or manuscript submissions that specify typewriter-style formatting. For everyone else, do whatever makes you feel good.