It's an interesting question. I know that ink bleed was taken into account in type design, which actually led to some early digital versions of classic typefaces being poor renditions because they were too literally following the cuts of the metal and ended up being too thin.
The traditional rationale I come across is that serifs "lead the eye," but I have no idea if there's any real research about that. There's probably some truth to broadly stereotyping sans-serif fonts as generally more legible and serif fonts as generally more readable -- but I'm sure there's a myriad of exceptions. (Like, uh, Myriad, a sans-serif explicitly designed to be good for body text.)
The traditional rationale I come across is that serifs "lead the eye," but I have no idea if there's any real research about that. There's probably some truth to broadly stereotyping sans-serif fonts as generally more legible and serif fonts as generally more readable -- but I'm sure there's a myriad of exceptions. (Like, uh, Myriad, a sans-serif explicitly designed to be good for body text.)