Hmm... I find this use of the ternary operator confusing so I changed it... BEFORE: $align = ( $self->align eq 'justify' ) ? 'left' : $self->align; AFTER: # We've run out of words to fill a full line if ($self->align eq 'justify') { $self->align('left'); } What do you think? http://github.com/jhannah/pdf-textblock/blob/master/lib/PDF/TextBlock.pm