A Guide to Planning Accessible Meetings

Producing Printed Material in Large Print

Many people with visual disabilities have some sight and can read large print. Large print material can be produced by using a photo copier or a computer where an 18-­point type size or larger can be selected. Here are some tips for producing large print documents:

• The best contrast with the least glare is bold type on yellow paper (white paper can produce too much glare)

  • If white paper needs to be used, use an off-white paper that will still give good contrast while producing less glare than white

• The paper should not be larger than standard 8 1/2" X 11"

• Use one inch margins

• Lines of text should be no longer than six inches (anything longer than six inches will not track well for people who use magnifiers)

• Text should begin at the left margin (centered text is harder to read)

• Use right margins that are ragged, not justified (right-justified margins can create awkward spacing between words, making lines of text difficult to track)

• Use dot leaders for tables of contents

• Use a strong, simple font, and avoid fine or "fancy" fonts

• Use normal spacing between characters (compressed fonts and italics are difficult to read)

• Use one-and-one-fourth to double spacing between lines

• The minimum font size should be 18 point