Photo: Kevin Canales
knowledge base

Accessibility - Communications - Printing

Printed matter remains important as a marketing tool: posters and flyers are indispensable for getting audiences to your event. It is also good to consider accessibility when designing and producing printed materials. Things like the choice of paper, illustrations, font, formatting and use of color are all important here.

Paper

  • Choose good quality matte paper (at least 120 gsm). On matte paper you can see contrast well (the difference between light and dark). A text on glossy paper can be annoying to read because this paper is reflective, on paper that is too thin the text can shine through.
  • Choose black letters on light paper (not the other way around).
  • Use a size paper that is easy to hold.

Photos and illustrations

  • Never use an image as a background to a text; it makes it difficult to read a text.
  • Check that the photos are sharp enough. Check that the photos still look good when printed, and preferably use color for illustrations.

Font

  • Do not use more than two fonts. For example, one font for the text and one for the titles.
  • Use a clear font. Sans-serif typefaces such as Arial or Helvetica are easy to read.
  • Use only connected letters (no matrix letters) so that letters remain legible even under a magnifying glass.
  • Use a large font size: 13 or 14 points is the minimum. The size of the letter should fit the width of the column or line.
  • Don't put too many but also not too few words on a line.

Formatting text

  • Wide line spacing is just as important as a large font size. The line spacing should match the size of the chosen font.
  • Always use the same spacing between words.
  • Italicized and underlined words are less readable.
  • Put one sentence on one line. If this is not possible, put each phrase on a separate line.

Colors

Color can help organize information: then the same color should always mean the same thing. Do not use more than 3 different colors.

These are combinations of colors that are usually perceived as most readable:

  • in writing
  • (dark) blue on white
  • black on yellow
  • (dark) green on white
  • red on white
  • red on (pale) yellow

These are combinations of colors that are usually perceived as the least readable:

  • orange on white
  • black on purple
  • red on green
  • green on red
  • orange on black

So don't use these combinations of colors!

More information online

Visit the Accessibility.com website for more information on accessible coloring: https://www.accessibility.nl/kennis/zorg-voor-voldoende-kleurcontrast

More tips on printing can be found on the SME Accessible website: https://www.mkbtoegankelijk.nl/informatievoorziening/drukwerk/

More knowledge