Industry Canada
ic.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Printed Material
Is the text easy to read?
d
An older man with thick glasses uses a big magnifying glass to try and read a document written in very small print.
People with vision impairments should be considered when creating text documentation. In this example an older man is using a magnifying glass to view a hard to read document. Print is easier to read when there is high colour contrast between the text and the background and the lettering is large and well-spaced. Paper should be thick and non-reflective. This standard applies to all print media.
The standards this example illustrates:
- Best practice-207
Use high contrast — black on white (or very light coloured) background 8.5 x 11. White lettering on black background is also acceptable. Font should be of uniform thickness (i.e., sans-serif , Arial), minimum 14 point, text should be "flush left" and "ragged right". Text should use lower and upper case. Titles should be in all upper case letters. Spacing 1.5 times height of letter. Thick paper (non-see-through), non-reflective, without distracting background. Page numbers top right. Lettering should not be reflective. 25.4 mm margins.
