Unreasonable replies to text size and legibility
Having just received the latest club magazine I have to say once again I find some of the text very difficult to read. I searched to see if any discussion had taken place since many, many people complained when the magazine design, paper and printer changed and no complants made any difference.
I found a discussion from last August and was very surprised with some very silly comments made such as read it on the web etc. I could not find any response from the club, perhaps I missed it but please take note it seems a lot of people are not happy. Very small, thin typfaces, bad ink distribution, wasted space which could be used to make typefaces bigger and more readable. Whoever checks the printer proofs probably gets them on non shiny, non show-through paper and does not have the eyes of a 76 year old who needs glasses and has to squint to read the mag in some places.
If this was a commercial magazine for which one had to pay a subscription it would not last long in my opinion. Some silly people may react and tell me 'don't read it then' but it is part of my subscription and as such should give me value for money.
Comments
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I suggest you bring this to the direct attention of the club, RTB, as the chances of it being seen here by a club staff member are fairly low.
Have you contacted either the editor or the club already?
Btw, what is silly about the suggestion of reading the mag online? It's surely the way to go. Also, I think you'll find very little of your membership fee, if any, goes towards paying for the magazine as the multitude of adverts fund it.
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Surely the magazine should be accessible to those older members with poorer eyesigth (or younger members with poor eyesight)? There is plenty of advice available for the writers/designers/printers of magazines.
As for reading on line - quite a lot of people find that not easy. In my experience it depends on how the on-line version has been designed - some are better than others. And of course on whatever device you have on which to read it.
Some people prefer a hard copy and find it easier to take to where ever they wish to read it - the bath, for example!!
Personally, I do feel the print is smaller than desirable. Does it bother me? No - largely becasue I find so little to read in it!
I agree that the OP should contact the Club direct, but I do think there is an obligation that if they are going to produce a magazine, all members should be able to read it.
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Magnifying glass anyone? I use one to supplement my reading specs when print seems to be too small.
JK
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If you read the online version, you simple zoom in to make the print size any size you need! 😉
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Only a complete idiot would think that grey text is user friendly. Perhaps we should send hard copy correspondence in very pale grey text and see what the reaction is.
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The new magazine style and especially the typefaces were criticised by many people including me when the changes were made and the problem has been highlighted in these forums before. I also think it would be in the interests of the members and the club that new posts on the forums could be monitored as they are on others.
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But they are issues you need to address to the club. I suggest you contact Rowena as a starting point.
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I have made a note of the problem some appear to be having with the magazine typeface and will bring up the problem at a suitable point at the Club Council meeting in April, if I have the opportunity, and if no-one is successful in getting a response before this.
David
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The red typeface, as it appears in the February magazine letters pages, is particularly difficult to read so I would be pleased to see DSB raise the issue
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May I suggest that Arial font, size 12 would be useful to a lot of members.
Clearly by using smaller font size less paper is needed and the costs are therefore cheaper however there comes a point when the club does it's members a disservice by failing to communicate clearly.
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Just to let you know that I bought up the issue today at Club Council. The Director General, Nick Lomas, was sad to hear that some folk were finding it difficult to read the magazine. The comments will be passed on to the appropriate people so that this can be reviewed.
David
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Cheers, David 👍🏻
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