Large-print (also large-type or large-font) refers to the formatting of a book or other text document in which the font size is considerably larger than usual to accommodate people who have low vision. Frequently the medium is also increased in size to accommodate the larger text. Special-needs libraries and many public libraries will stock large-print versions of books, along with versions written in Braille.
The font size for large print is typically at least 18 points in size, equivalent to 24px for a web CSS font size. Different sizes are made to suit different visual needs, with a common rule of thumb to be at least twice the minimum acuity size. [1]
The American National Association for Visually Handicapped (NAVH) provides the NAVH Seal of Approval to commercial publishers in the US, for books that meet their large print standards. [2] (Lighthouse International acquired NAVH in 2010.) [3]
The standards [4] call for:
The American Printing House for the Blind defines font sizes as:
In addition to enlarging type size, page layout and font characteristics can have a positive effect on readability. Fonts designed for legibility make it easier to distinguish one character from another. Some key characteristics of such fonts are: [6]
Examples of more-easily read fonts are Antique Olive, Tahoma, Tiresias, and Verdana.
Companies offering the large-print formatting uses diverse formats (also called ratios) to support the larger font size. [7] Among these ratios, we find:
Among the first large print book publishers, the Clear Type Publishing Company published a collection of books in 36 point type, c. 1910. [8] The Ohio-based company specialized in large print, publishing books in 36pt and 24pt. [9]
In 1914 Robert Irwin produced a series of textbooks in 36 point, for low-vision children in Cleveland, Ohio schools. This type proved to be too large and was soon abandoned for the more popular 24 point. Research sponsored by Irwin in 1919 indicated 24 point type to be the most readable of the sizes evaluated. Further research by others in 1952 and 1959 supported 18 point or 24 point type. [10]
In the UK in 1964, Frederick Thorpe began publishing standard print titles with type approximately twice the size of the original printing. The books were given plain dust jackets, color-coded to indicate categories like mysteries (black), general fiction (red), romances (blue), Westerns (orange), etc. These physically large editions were reported to be difficult for some readers to handle.
In 1969, Thorpe's company, Ulverscroft, began producing the books in 16 point type and normal-sized bindings, which the company claims increased the acceptance of large print in public libraries. 16 point type is smaller than the minimum recommended by the American Council of the Blind, [11] which recommends 20 point, with 18 point as a suggested minimum. [12]
In 2008 the W3.org released the WCAG 2.0 web accessibility standards, which define large text as 18pt, which is 24px in CSS. [13] Further, the standard specifies that users must be able to increase the font size 200% without breaking content. [14]
Today large print editions of some current books are published simultaneously with regular print editions by their publishers and usually feature the same full-color jackets and jacket design. Public libraries often have large print sections, and many bookstores carry some large print editions.
Since 2005, some companies have begun offering a variety of font sizes for large print books.
ISO 216 is an international standard for paper sizes, used around the world except in North America and parts of Latin America. The standard defines the "A", "B" and "C" series of paper sizes, which includes the A4, the most commonly available paper size worldwide. Two supplementary standards, ISO 217 and ISO 269, define related paper sizes; the ISO 269 "C" series is commonly listed alongside the A and B sizes.
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Based on the PostScript language, each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, vector graphics, raster images and other information needed to display it. PDF has its roots in "The Camelot Project" initiated by Adobe co-founder John Warnock in 1991. PDF was standardized as ISO 32000 in 2008. The last edition as ISO 32000-2:2020 was published in December 2020.
Metafont is a description language used to define raster fonts. It is also the name of the interpreter that executes Metafont code, generating the bitmap fonts that can be embedded into e.g. PostScript. Metafont was devised by Donald Knuth as a companion to his TeX typesetting system.
Optical character recognition or optical character reader (OCR) is the electronic or mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document, a scene photo or from subtitle text superimposed on an image.
Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using dedicated software on a personal ("desktop") computer. It was first used almost exclusively for print publications, but now it also assists in the creation of various forms of online content. Desktop publishing software can generate page layouts and produce text and image content comparable to the simpler forms of traditional typography and printing. This technology allows individuals, businesses, and other organizations to self-publish a wide variety of content, from menus to magazines to books, without the expense of commercial printing.
In typography, leading is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies.
In typography, small caps are characters typeset with glyphs that resemble uppercase letters but reduced in height and weight close to the surrounding lowercase letters or text figures. This is technically not a case-transformation, but a substitution of glyphs, although the effect is often approximated by case-transformation and scaling. Small caps are used in running text as a form of emphasis that is less dominant than all uppercase text, and as a method of emphasis or distinctiveness for text alongside or instead of italics, or when boldface is inappropriate. For example, the text "Text in small caps" appears as Text in small caps in small caps. Small caps can be used to draw attention to the opening phrase or line of a new section of text, or to provide an additional style in a dictionary entry where many parts must be typographically differentiated.
Cambria is a transitional serif typeface commissioned by Microsoft and distributed with Windows and Office. It was designed by Dutch typeface designer Jelle Bosma in 2004, with input from Steve Matteson and Robin Nicholas. It is intended as a serif font that is suitable for body text, that is very readable printed small or displayed on a low-resolution screen and has even spacing and proportions.
In graphic design, page layout is the arrangement of visual elements on a page. It generally involves organizational principles of composition to achieve specific communication objectives.
Digital accessible information system (DAISY) is a technical standard for digital audiobooks, periodicals, and computerized text. DAISY is designed to be a complete audio substitute for print material and is specifically designed for use by people with print disabilities, including blindness, impaired vision, and dyslexia. Based on the MP3 and XML formats, the DAISY format has advanced features in addition to those of a traditional audiobook. Users can search, place bookmarks, precisely navigate line by line, and regulate the speaking speed without distortion. DAISY also provides aurally accessible tables, references, and additional information. As a result, DAISY allows visually impaired listeners to navigate something as complex as an encyclopedia or textbook, otherwise impossible using conventional audio recordings.
In typography, line length is the width of a block of typeset text, usually measured in units of length like inches or points or in characters per line. A block of text or paragraph has a maximum line length that fits a determined design. If the lines are too short then the text becomes disjointed; if they are too long, the content loses rhythm as the reader searches for the start of each line.
The Sony Reader (ソニー・リーダー) was a line of e-book readers manufactured by Sony. The first model was the PRS-500 released in September 2006 and was related to the earlier Sony Librie, the first commercial E Ink e-reader in 2004 using an electronic paper display developed by E Ink Corporation. The last model was the PRS-T3, after which Sony announced it would no longer release a new consumer e-reader.
A block quotation is a quotation in a written document that is set off from the main text as a paragraph, or block of text, and typically distinguished visually using indentation and a different typeface or smaller size font. This is in contrast to setting it off with quotation marks in a run-in quote. Block quotations are used for long quotations. The Chicago Manual of Style recommends using a block quotation when extracted text is 100 words or more, or approximately six to eight lines in a typical manuscript.
In typography, a column is one or more vertical blocks of content positioned on a page, separated by gutters or rules. Columns are most commonly used to break up large bodies of text that cannot fit in a single block of text on a page. Additionally, columns are used to improve page composition and readability. Newspapers very frequently use complex multi-column layouts to break up different stories and longer bodies of texts within a story. Column can also more generally refer to the vertical delineations created by a typographic grid system which type and image may be positioned. In page layout, the whitespace on the outside of the page are known as margins; the gap between two facing pages is also considered a gutter, since there are columns on both sides.
Page numbering is the process of applying a sequence of numbers to the pages of a book or other document. The number itself, which may appear in various places on the page, can be referred to as a page number or as a folio. Like other numbering schemes such as chapter numbering, page numbers allow the citation of a particular page of the numbered document and facilitates to the reader to find specific parts of the document and to know the size of the complete text.
Accessible publishing is an approach to publishing and book design whereby books and other texts are made available in alternative formats designed to aid or replace the reading process. It is particularly relevant for people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled.
EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for electronic publication and is sometimes stylized as ePUB. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones, tablets, and computers. EPUB is a technical standard published by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). It became an official standard of the IDPF in September 2007, superseding the older Open eBook (OEB) standard.
Great primer is a large font size that was used in the printing of English Bibles and other large-format books, leading to its other name of Bible Text. The largest size ever used in England for printing books, it was several sizes larger than English but smaller than paragon. It was known in Italian as testo. Other synonyms include Double Bourgeois, 18-point, Gros Romain (French), Text (Dutch) and Tertia (German).
Modified Stave Notation (MSN) is an alternative way of notating music that was developed in the UK where it is widely used. MSN is intended to be used by people who cannot easily read ordinary musical stave notation (or staff notation), even if it is enlarged, or for some people reduced in size. Such users include those with visual impairments and those who are dyslexic.
Alternative formats include audio, braille, electronic or large print versions of standard print such as educational material, textbooks, information leaflets, and even people's personal bills and letters. Alternative formats are created to help people who are blind or visually impaired to gain access to information either by sight, by hearing (audio) or by touch (braille).