Make text box center along columns

Question

I want to create text where each column is centered horizontally based on each letter's center, like this image:

However when I try this in GIMP it inevitably ends up off center using the text tool. Like so:

You can see that the "S" is not directly under the I and R, and some other letters are off as well.

What's the best way to get each column centered? I imagine it's possible just to make three columns then line them up, but then I can't change fonts/sizes as easily. Ideally I would like to line them up while maintaining the layer as text until export.

Answer 1

This is because your letters do not all have the same width. In particular the "I"s are narrower than the rest, making the lines that contain then narrower. So either

• use a fixed pitch font
• create a layer per character
• use the on-canvas edit dialog to set the spacing of specific letters (mostly increase spacing before the "I"s and before the letter that follows them). But be ready to tweak that again if you change the font.