Most blind and partially sighted people can read print in some form.
Large print
There is no single way to define large print. As a very rough guide, books are generally considered to be large print if the font is 16 point or higher. This scale can go up to 48 point fonts, at which stage individuals may find it easier to use other accessible formats.
RNIB refers to text sizes larger than 22 point as 'giant print'.
Clear print
RNIB publishes guidelines on producing accessible documents called 'Clear print'. Here are some of the main points:
- Document text size should be 12-14 pt, preferably 14 pt.
- The font you choose should be clear, avoiding anything stylised
- All body text should be left aligned
- Use bold sparingly, only highlight a few words rather than a paragraph
- Keep the text layout clear, simple and consistent
- Don't use blocks of capitalised letters, and try not to use any italics or underlining
- The contrast between the text and background is as high as possible
Read further information about RNIB clear print guidelines
Access technology
Various forms of technology can be used to increase text size:
- optical character recognition - software is used in conjunction with a PC and scanner to copy printed text to the computer and magnify
- screen magnification software - can magnify the text, menus and icons on the computer screen up to 32 times
- closed circuit televisions (CCTVs) or video magnifiers - printed material and objects can be placed under a camera and the magnified image is displayed on a television screen
