Smallest readable font size?

[Anogenic]

Hi,
I want to sign a flyer I'm making with my email address. At the moment I've got a Futura Light Condensed at 6pt, anyone know if this will be readable and how small you can go?

[CkretAjint]

Depends on how crappy your eye site is.

I can read down to 3 pt type, my boss can BARELY read anything 6 pt.

[graphicsmama]

I wouldn't do less than 6 pt...but if it's Futura Light Condensed, you may want to bump it to as much as 7.5 or so....

[longboy]

Is this a piece for a client? Personally, I wouldn't be putting my email address on a client's piece.

[garricks]

Minimum we will use is 6 pt. Optima, black on white only (no reversing out of a CMYK color, for ex.), one short line of text only. Any different specs and the minimum is 9pt. This is for stuff the general public will (try to) read.

for S&G I set your specs and printed, and black on white it's barely readable to me.

[Virgo Nightingale]

The minimum size would depend on the font, the weight, and the colors involved. Solid 100% K text on a white or light background is best. If you're using white text, it will likely fill in if the point size is too small, especially if the surrounding color is using more than one ink. If you're using a colored text that uses multiple inks, you run the risk of bad registration causing your text to look blurry.

[PrintDriver]

10pt is as small as we go.
Ditto on putting email addies on client pieces. Not cool.

[Virgo Nightingale]

If this is a paying client, "signing" the flyer with your email address is in VERY poor taste, unless you've both agreed to a steep discount in exchange for advertising on their collateral.

[Craig B]

10pt PD, really, on what? 10pt seems pretty large, and my vision isn't even that great.

[CkretAjint]

We use 10 pt in all our legal disclaimers. "It's the law" according to our legal dept... :rolleyes:

[budafist]

Really? 10pt is huge!

We go down to 5pt for stuff that doesn't really need to be seen, but would be nice to include.

6pt for a condensed font should be fine as long as the colour is high contrast. Example: Black text on white background is ok for 6pt, but pink text on orange background a hell no!

[Craig B]

Our legal lines are at 6.5 pt on our docs. We've never had our legal dept. say otherwise.

[budafist]

Legal lines required by law and a designer's personal email address are different things IMO. Most clients do not allow a designer's contact details to appear on their advertising.

[Anogenic]

Thanks for the feedback.
It's red text on a yellow background, so i'll go with 6pt.
And yes i agree that signing a piece of work shouldn't be done, but I'm doing it for people I know for a cheap price...

[budafist]

As long as you client is aware that their cheap design price includes advertising for your company.

[PrintDriver]

vvvvvv

[CkretAjint]

Really? 10pt is huge!

Indeed it's true. We sell timeshares, so it is really touchy feely with each state. Some require this, some require that... It's rather annoying. *shrugs*

[budafist]

I've seen business cards with the printer's logo on the back or in 1 corner. I think that is a terrible practice.

Just imagine if the printer's logo and designer's logo were to appear on every printed piece?

[PrintDriver]

And the photo credit. You guys always forget the photo credit. :D

[budafist]

Well if we're going to include photo credits, I'd like to include 3 of my client testimonials too! ;)

Ones like:

"Buda did a great job on my business card, but I wish she wouldn't stick in her contact details on the back of my card after approval" - F. Ake & Co.

"I love my business cards and I love the fact that I got 2 free logos printed on the back of my cards. Now I can see quickly who designed my card and who printed them" - This Is Not Real Ltd

"Not only was Buda's solution quick and stylish, but both her and her printer always include a pack of their own business cards with my purchase. At no extra cost! I use these 200 business cards for things around the house such as bookmarks, coasters etc. They really are very useful" - Bored HW Inc.

[urstwile]

LOL Buda. :D

[ovenrude]

6 point is as small as I'll go, for what its worth.

[irishguy]

I've gone as small as 7 pt., BUT I bolded it.

[CkretAjint]

Psh, ya'll ain't got balls. I dropped some legal copy down to 4 pt today! :D

[budafist]

Psh, ya'll ain't got balls. I dropped some legal copy down to 4 pt today! :D

Really? Is it still called legal copy when it's that small?

[CkretAjint]

Legal dept approved it, so it left the door! *shrugs*

[Ned]

I'll go down to 5 or 6 pt type for legal, and I believe I have also done 4pt legal notices in the past as well. That's for stuff that I'm not really expecting people to read - only there to say, "What are you talking about? See? We DID print that!".

For actual ad content, I would never go that small! 9 or 10 pt at the smallest, maybe for "descriptive text" or something.