MAKING IT HARD TO READ

I first noticed it with my Piano Technicians Journal in mid 2000. Previously, the print on all articles had been black against a white page - quite easy to read. Then, I suppose, someone thought it would be "cool" to start using varying shades of gray print to add visual interest. The result was that all the articles became more difficult to read. It didn't help that I was getting older and needed to use my reading glasses more often. But, why make things harder for older members? I have written the editors a couple of times, but they have ignored my pleas.

I know it CAN be done. I received a newsletter from my dentist a few months ago which really impressed me. Even though there was light shading behind some of the paragraphs, the print was a dark black and very easy to read. I have also examined various professional journals in my local library. ALL of them use black print, not shades of gray. They were all very readable.

I am at this moment using my wife's computer with an LCD screen. It is too bright, even though I have adjusted it as dark as possible. To add to the visual problem, many web page creators are using varying shades of color print which are too light, thus making them very hard to read.

Let me encourage you to try to help your readers if you type things for others to read. Use a DARK print against a light background. If you will notice, I use BOLD on my web pages (when possible).

THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION!

P.S. Even though I have used the "bold" command for this post, it still came out in a gray shade, rather than black. I am sorry, but I tried. Blogger.com needs to see this post too!