PURPOSE: To deal with various characters including Japanese syllabary by calculating a suitable kerning amount with a less storage capacity.

CONSTITUTION: This device is provided with a proportional data generating means 2 for calculating proportional data for each character from the outline data of characters stored in a storage mean 1, fit data calculating means 3 for dividing characters into three sections with respect to a Y axis and calculating maximum and minimum apex data (fit data) with respect to an X axis for each divided section, and kerning data calculating means 4 for calculating kerning data by combining the fit data and the proportional data.