Election day is tomorrow, and there doesn't seem to be a fence post or curb empty of campaign signs. When I pass any new signs, I like to evaluate them based on their design more than for their actual message. Anyone else out there do that, too?
Some campaign signs are clear and legible from yards away, while certain others can only be read if you are within 20 feet and are at a complete stop. I've decided that the main difference comes down to the fonts used: the choice of font, the font color, and the font size.
We see a lot of design work come through Lorraine Press. Some projects are simpler than others, but all benefit from a sensible use of font sizes and colors. When choosing what font to use and at what size, first determine where your project is going to be viewed. Will it be outside, by passing cars, or held in a hand indoors? Knowing this will help you choose which fonts at what size to use. (And then before the design is finalized, view it in that environment, you might be surprised.)
Something else to take into consideration is the color of the type and the color of the background the type is on. Black type on a white background is easiest to read on paper with the highest possible contrast, and it is easy to print. We see this combination used everywhere.
However, if you are printing on a black background with white, reversed-out type, there are a few more considerations. If you are using a serif font, or thin sans serif font reversed out of a black background, we at Lorraine Press advise that they be set at 9 points or larger, especially if you are using a supported black. This is purely for legibility reasons. What looks readable on your laser printer, may not turn out the same on a printing press. Small white type makes the job more difficult for your printer to produce and your serifs or thin strokes of letters may not appear due to trapping and ink considerations. If your black background is supported (using all four colors to make a richer looking black), consider using a thicker font, or a point size of 11 or larger.
Black type that is 4 points or below is hard enough to read already for some people, but add in the lower contrast of colors other than black and you will have an even harder time getting your message across. As for the printing aspects of tiny colored type, you may see misregistration between the ink colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), or a pattern of dots may become visible with conventional screening techniques (One of the problems solved by Lorraine Press using stochastic screening!). This can leave your tiny type looking unfocused or shadowed.
Also, this is common sense but we want to say it anyway: use fonts designed for superior legibility for your body of text, and leave the display and fancy fonts for titles and attention grabbing headlines. The font that makes words in English look like Klingon from Star Trek can be fun for you, but your reader will give up long before reading your entire message if your type is set entirely in a crazy, hard-to-read font.
Looking to design large signs or billboards? Take a look around you as you drive. Instead of noticing the advertising message, notice which signs are visible and legible from farthest away, and figure out why. Then incorporate that knowledge into your design.
This is pretty basic advice, nothing earth-shatteringly new. But sometimes a little reminder of the basics can be helpful. There's just one more thing. Unless you are giving your printer a pdf with embedded fonts or an eps with outlined fonts (and you have double checked that they are all outlined), please include your fonts in the files you give to your printer. Your printer will be grateful, we promise.
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